Another Dragon
by LMAJRJSM
Summary: Sam is the new dragon in NYC, she meets Jake and his friends and finds there is more to them than meets the eye. Will this be a match made in heaven or hell?Should the huntsclan be in this story? Review and tell me what you think. Please let me know
1. Chapter 1

American Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own the franchise just the character known as Samantha.

Samantha was the new girl at Millard Fillmore High School and she was just trying to keep out of everyone's way including the jocks that were looking for people to make look bad. She was new to this area and what she had heard about was that one of the teachers was right about mythical creatures actually existing but he was not taken seriously.

Just then she saw 3 people on skateboards: Two boys and one girl. They were very good at that but she had to watch out or- 

too late she had been knocked over onto her back. The skaters then stopped and turned around. "Hey sorry didn't see you there." They said and went into the school. Sam got herself up and picked up her bag rushing inside to make sure she was not late for her new teacher. She just made it inside and her teacher gave her a look.

"Well class I believe I should introduce our newest student. Samantha McKenzie why don't you come up and introduce yourself?" The teacher had glasses, which seemed too big for his face and was balding. He also seemed to be from a German country. Sam could not actually tell where from.

"My name is Samantha, Sam for short and I come from Denver Colorado. That's all." She said and sat back down. The teacher obviously was not expecting her to be done so soon. But got on with the lesson anyway.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\/\/

Sam paid attention to the teacher all the way through the lesson not being a goodie goodie but did not know what the lesson was going to be like so she took as many notes as she could.

The lesson was over and then everyone ran out of the classroom and knocked Sam over again no one waiting and helping her up. But she looked up and saw one of the skaters there. "Sorry people should look where they are going." He gave her his hand and she accepts it.

"My name is Jake Long. Sorry we knocked you over earlier." Samantha just smiled accepted his apology and he left. She picked up her things and left the classroom. The hallways of the school were lively with chatter and everyone was in their own groups and Sam did not know where to go.

She put her things away in her new locker and locked it up and left for the cafeteria. She saw the Jocks, the Cheerleaders and all the other groups at separate tables. Samantha saw a table with no one sitting there and decided to sit by herself. She had got her lunch before she sat down.

"Excuse can we sit here?" A voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw Jake and the other two skaters. Sam nodded and said yes. They sat down and started talking to one another.

The guy in the hat kept staring at a blonde cheerleader who was talking to two others and laughing at unsuspecting people. The girl was talking about someone called Kyle Wilkins and how fine he was. Jake was just talking along with them not really talking about a crush. Like he had lost someone recently. But still he looked happy and was smiling.

"Hey new girl why don't you ditch these losers and come and sit with the cool kids." The leader of the jocks had come up and talked to Sam. Sam just ignored his comment and went back to her lunch but soon found that her lunch had been pushed away from her. "Weren't you listening?"

Sam looked up at him and took her glasses off as she did. Her brown curly hair was falling into her face as she did so. This made her looked beautiful whereas if she were wearing her glasses she would have been invisible and probably called a nerd. "I don't think so." She said simply and got back her lunch from where it was moved to.

The Jock did not take no for an answer and as Sam got back up he got in her way. He moved forward and she moved to the side thus he fell over and she stepped over him. Everyone around was laughing at the jock for falling over.

"Hey Brad did you have nice trip?" Someone said out loud and the raucous laughter continued. Sam left the cafeteria in hoots.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\/\/\/\/\/\//

The rest of the day was uneventful and Sam then went to her locker. The cheerleaders were looking at her with some scathing look that was making her shudder. She took out her stuff and coat and got ready to leave for the day.

"Hey are you alright from earlier?" It was Jake again and his friends they seemed harmless enough. They smiled at her. "Thanks for not leaving our table to go and sit with Brad." 

"Is that the guys name? I saw enough people like him in my old school they're harmless enough. All they can do is damage a rep." Sam said to them. They agreed with that. Brad suddenly came up to Sam trying to put the charm on with her.

"Do I need a sign labelled not interested?" She said to him and walked out of the school saying goodbye to Jake and his friends.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sam walked back to her house and saw her father unpacking more of her things. "Hey dad how are you doing?" He told her he was doing fine. Sam helped him with the rest of the unpacking as he was almost done it didn't take that long.

"Sam, I'll be out for a few hours be careful when you go out not to get in trouble. I know what you're like." Her father said. He waved her goodbye and left. Sam unpacked some of the food that her father had brought earlier in the day.

She made a snack and then decided to go and check out the park in case there was any trouble that needed to be sorted. It was cold and Sam really wished that she had brought a coat. She just kept on walking when she was attacked by these motor biker trolls who had just started robbing people a few days ago.

"Give us your goods." They had said to her. She kicked one of the ones who was holding and proceeded to run. She was really hoping she would not have to do this here and now.

She hid behind a bush and a blue light engulfed her and she was transformed into her alter ego. She was a dragon. With wings and was a dark brown all over. "It's a dragon." All the trolls had started to scatter when another voice was heard.

"I thought I would not have to deal with you guys for a long time but I guess I was wrong." A voice in the shadows got louder as fireballs appeared and chased off the trolls. "Are you alright?" He thought he was talking to another magical creature but was shocked to see another dragon.

Sam saw a red dragon. "I did not know there were any other dragons here besides me, my sisters and my mentor." He was obviously shocked.

"I thought the same." Sam said. This shocked him more another female dragon. This made 5 dragons in America that he knew personally. He was determined to find out about her.

"Who are you?" He said to her. She looked back at him not willing to budge and tell him who she was.

"You should tell me first." Sam asked him. They could not argue anymore as the trolls had come back and with more numbers on their side. "Oh man we need to work together for this." Sam said to him.

"Ok." The dragon said. They did just flying in sync and blasting fire at the trolls. It was a few minutes later when the battle had stopped. Sam was happy that was over. The male dragon celebrated by saying something she did not understand.

When he turned around she was gone. But he could still see her in the distance. He immediately went after her. "Hey I want to know who you are? Are you working for the dark dragon or anyone evil?"

Sam did not answer him so he unintentionally blasted fire at her and it hit her wing pretty hard causing her to fall. "What was that for?" She asked him as she started spinning out of control. "Oh this is not good." She said.

She crash-landed on a rooftop in a lot of pain. She had no choice and changed back into her human form. She was pretty sure that the other dragon had seen her. "Sam?" He had said without knowing it.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?" Sam winced as she extended her arm. She had been burnt before but this hurt. The dragon then transformed back into his human form; she was shocked to discover who it was. "Jake?" She started backing towards the ledge and lost her footing.

Jake immediately transformed back into his dragon form and grabbed her wrist before she became street road kill. "Don't struggle otherwise you'll fall again." Sam listened to his advice and did not struggle he took her to his grandfathers shop. "Don't worry you're safe here."

He turned once again into his human form. Knowing no one had seen he lead her into the shop. "Jake what is the meaning of this?" His grandfather had started saying something in Chinese.

"Hey Gramps chill she's a dragon too." Jake said to him. The older man looked at Sam like he didn't believe it. Sam sighed and transformed into her dragon form. Jake's grandfather stepped back but then did help.

Sam changed back into human form and showed the man her injury. "How did this happen?" He asked. Jake explained what had happened but did seem kind of embarrassed about it. Once her injury had been sorted out Sam had wanted to leave but Jake stopped her.

"I need to go, my father will be worried." She said to them. She went to leave and looked down the streets not knowing exactly how to get back home. "Could you show me where to go?" She asked Jake and he agreed.

/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\//\\/\/\/\/\/\/\//\

They had made their way back to her home, which was not that far from Jake's. Sam said goodbye to him and she would see him tomorrow. Once he had left Sam just felt confused. This was new. In the last place she went to she was the only dragon now there was another.

This could be fun she thought. Fun indeed.


	2. Chapter 2

American Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own the franchise but I do own the character known as Sam.

Chapter 2 of Another Dragon

It was a new day at Millard Fillmore High and Sam felt like she had the world on her shoulders. She left early so she could walk slowly because she did not feel like hurrying around today. She saw Brad and hid behind a tree as he walked past her. She sighed not wanting to deal with him just yet.

As she made it to the entrance and saw Jake and his friends skating towards her this time stopping in front of her. The girl skater got off her skateboard and said thank you to Sam for doing what she did to Brad yesterday and making him look the fool. Sam stated she didn't do it on purpose but all the same it was her pleasure.

"I'm Trixie nice to meet you." She said to Sam and extended her hand. Trixie started to talk to Sam about Kyle Wilkins and how he was going to be her main squeeze. Sam laughed and said to Trixie to keep up her efforts. Sam walked over to her locker not noticing Jake following her.

"Don't worry I won't tell anyone about what you are." He told her and she replied the same to him and she shook his hand on it. Sam walked past him and into the classroom.

"Dude what is she?" Spud asks his friend as Sam walked into the classroom. Jake just looked at her as she left. Jake went out of his trance and looked at Spud.

"Say what? I can't tell you. I made a promise." He said to Spud and walked into the classroom sitting in his seat in the middle between Trixie and Spud. Sam was located at the front near Rockwood's desk.

Rockwood had begun his lesson expecting to see Jake late but shocked to see him there and just continued explaining about the unicorn. He spouted off some facts which both Jake and Sam knew to be false but they said nothing. Sam just took notes and listened carefully.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sam looked around when the lesson was over and saw that everyone was getting up again. Sam just sat in her seat for a moment. As soon as everyone had rushed past her Sam got her things and got out of the classroom. She sighed as she got her stuff together and put it in her locker again.

The rest of the day went by quickly and Sam was grateful that it was now the end of the day. She exited the building putting on her coat. She exited the building and had begun to walk back home. "Hey Sam." Jake called from behind her. She turned around and had seen him. "Do you want to hang out with us at the skatepark?" He asked her.

Sam smiled and said ok to this. So she walked with them as they skated ahead of her. They made it to the skatepark a few minutes later to find others there but they soon left. Trixie and Spud immediately went on the ramp and begun to do tricks at the same time.

Jake stayed beside Sam as she watched them do the tricks. All of a sudden Jake picked her up and had begun to do the same. Sam closed her eyes not turning into a dragon but out of fear. "Don't worry I won't let anything happen to you." Jake said to her.

She nodded and then Jake just did a trick and stopped. Sam got off and let out a sigh of relief. "You alright?" Trixie asked as she stopped for a moment in the middle of the ramp. Sam nodded. "You just need some practice that's all."

"Maybe. I don't know, I've never done this before." Sam said honestly. They nodded in understanding. Some other kids called up and said they had wanted to use the ramp. By this time it was starting to get late. "I have to go home do my homework." Sam said and left them alone.

As Sam left Jake looked at Trixie and Spud and told them to follow him. "She's nice enough isn't she?" Jake asked his friends. They just nodded. "She's a dragon. I met her last night and accidentally hurt her." Trixie and Spud were shocked with this new discovery but promised not to say anything.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sam arrived back at her house to see that her father was still at work. She got to work doing her homework. She silently cursed Rockwood annoyingly saying to herself he did not know mythical creatures and would fail to comprehend what they were actually like. She got back to her work and hoped that it would be all right.

She finally set down her pen an hour later. She went to her window and looked over across the street. There were children playing in the street and it was only now starting to get dark. A few minutes after looking out over the view there was a knock at the door.

She opened it and saw her new friends at the door. "You told them I take it?" Sam asked Jake and he just nodded.

"They already knew my secret and maybe we team up and help each other whilst we are both here." Jake said to her. 

Sam sighed and let them in. No sense in being alone she thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

American Dragon

Disclaimer: American Dragon is the property of Disney Channel and not me.

Chapter 3 of Another Dragon

Sam looked at Jake, Spud and Trixie as they came into her house. "Why did you tell anyone you promised that you wouldn't?" Sam asked him. She asked everyone if anyone wanted anything to drink. They all went and got seated in her living room.

Not everything was unpacked but it was still clear enough in there for people to be able to sit down. Sam brought in glasses of soda. She offered them out and put the tray onto the coffee table. "If I team up with you will you promise not to burn me anymore because my arm still hurts from last night." She said to Jake.

"Ok that will not happen again. I promise that." Jake said to her. Sam nodded in the end and shook Jake's hand cementing the fact that she would be teaming up with him to keep the magical world safe.

"Yo this is great." Trixie said. "Why don't we see what you look like in dragon form?" She asked Sam. Sam smiled and closed her eyes.

Within moments she was in dragon form. "Wow that is so cool." Sam smiled at Jake and the others happy about this newest development.

She quickly changed back into her human guise not worried about them knowing now. "Come on. It's dark outside we can go to my grandfather's shop." Jake said. Sam grabbed her keys and coat and they all left the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own the franchise that belongs to the Disney Channel.

Chapter 4

We walked towards the shop. We made it into the shop a few minutes later. Sam looked around and saw that it was a modest place with television sets lining the walls. Some of them were cracked but they were alright aside from that. "Hey Gramps we're here." Jake shouted.

An old man walked in with the talking dog right beside him. "Ah Jake it is good to see you." The old man said the same to Trixie and Spud. He did not recognise Sam from the other night.

"Hey Gramps its alright this is the other dragon." Jake pointed out to Sam. She just smiled at him. The old man walked up to Sam and she just stood straight but not in an army pose.

"This can't be the other dragon she is too pretty." Sam smiled at this. She looked around behind her and saw that no one was there so she transformed for a second. Just long enough for them to be able to see her. "I guess I was wrong. Welcome. How long have you been in the city for?" He asked Sam as she changed back.

"A few days. I noticed that there had been trouble with the Huntsclan I was being followed by some members in Denver then they suddenly disappeared. I told my father and we up and moved sticks. We ended up here." Sam told them.

"So is now more than one American Dragon." Jake's Grandpa said to himself. "You will need to train with us so that you can understand what we do around here." He said out loud.

Sam nodded and then watched the old man exit the room. The dog just sat there looking at her. "Kid she is cute. Who knows what will happen there." Jake just looked away and the others laughed not including Sam who was kind of confused by this but let it slide.

So she had a new job. But this time she was not alone to do it which was an added bonus.


	5. Chapter 5

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own the American Dragon franchise it belongs to Disney. I own the character known as Samantha.

Chapter 5

Sam had left the shop and gone back home. She knew that her father would not be there but she wanted to grab something to eat before she started her rounds tonight. Knowing her luck Jake would probably show at some point. But she could use his help sometimes she just needed some space in order to learn how to deal with having another like her helping.

She made it back to her house and made herself some food. As soon as she had eaten it she made her way to her bathroom and got washed up. A few minutes later she was ready to go.

Normally what she did was make her way around the city checking out for any trouble. She would then find a place that was mostly deserted and transform in order to help anyway she possibly could.

She walked around the city or as much of it as she could cover in 45 minutes. She had not seen anything. 'Must be a quiet night' she thought to herself. She sighed and continued checking around.

Just then she saw something she did not expect to see. It was a unicorn and it was being attacked by some goblins. It was a horrible sight the poor thing was scared and being held onto like that was no way to treat it.

She transformed into her dragon self and prepared to do battle with the goblins. She could hold them off but she knew that Jake would be along soon enough.


	6. Chapter 6

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own the American Dragon franchise. That belongs to the Disney Channel.

Chapter 6

"You hurt that innocent creature and you'll have to answer to me." Sam said as she prepared to attack these creatures. She knew that she would have to hold them off long enough in case Jake did not turn up.

"Oh no its the other dragon." The Goblins said and prepared to attack back. Sam flew into the air and avoided any of their weapons that they had begun to throw at her. She knew that she would have to be careful.

Aside from lapses in judgement from her past when she had been wrong and put her in danger. "This might be one of those times where I have to do something crazy." She said out loud.

She began to shoot fire at the goblins and they ran away. Sam turned and landed on the ground and released the unicorn and it ran off in the direction of its herd. Sam looked around knowing that this wasn't over just yet.

"Hey." She heard from the air and Jake turned up with his Grandfather. "You handled that well." He said and she just smiled at him.

"I think that was just something small before anything else turns up. There could be more. Stay on your guard." Sam said to him.

All of a sudden men in hooded cloaks came out of the trees. "I don't believe it. I thought they were gone." Sam said to Jake.

"So did I looks like some magic isn't always permanent." Jake said and prepared to fight. There was no sign of Rose or the Huntsmaster. Maybe there was just men for the moment. "Double team." The elder dragon said to Jake and they did a move and attacked the men.

Sam fought off a couple of men and they ran away. Eventually all of the men had retreated away and they all reverted to their human forms as soon as the coast was clear. "I thought they were gone how could that be?" She asked Jake.

"I don't know but we are going to find out. I won't allow for any of the magical creatures to be in danger again." Jake said and then transformed back into his dragon form.

Sam knew she would have to find out why he was that way but for now she was just shocked to see that the huntsclan was back. But why?


	7. Chapter 7

American Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own the American Dragon franchise it belongs to Disney.

Chapter 7

Sam reverted back into her dragon form and went to follow Jake. She saw him close by and just followed him. He stopped on a nearby building where he just sat. The building was a mess with 12 statues around with their heads missing. They looked like winged creatures. He saw Sam coming up behind him.

"I wanted to think about things here. The last time I was in this spot was when the 13 skulls were together and Rose got rid of the huntsclan forever. Or so I thought." Jake said.

"Who's Rose?" Sam asked him as she reverted back into her human form. "Was she a close person friend?" Sam said hoping not to pry as she sat down beside him.

"She was my girl. She was also the huntsgirl and it was her job to slay a dragon but she never tried to slay me after I revealed who I was to her. She then was always helping me to bring down the huntsclan." Jake said to her.

Sam was actually surprised by his honesty. "I'll help you bring them down alright?" Jake looked up at her. "I had a friend once he was evil and a member of this dark society who were using magical creatures' powers to try and make people who they despised suffer. He found out I was a dragon probably from watching me but he never turned me in. In the end he helped me bring them down but I never saw him again after that because he must have disappeared with them. I've never told anyone that but I felt like you shared one of your secrets so I should do the same."

"That is a big secret. Did you have to stop the huntsclan a lot from Colorado?" Jake asked. He wanted to ask her these questions because she was this new person in his life and he had to know about her for some reason.

"Very rarely you had to deal with them quite a lot, they didn't come down my way very much and I was grateful for that because I would have had more to deal with." Sam retorted back. She really was grateful to have met someone else like her.

"There's one question I really want to ask you." Jake said to her. "Do you ancestors who were dragons?" She looked at him with kind of pain on her face.

"My mother was a dragon but she was killed when I was a small child. I must have had grandparents but my dad's work moved us around a lot and I was too young to have known whether or not they were." Sam said.

"I'm sorry I didn't know. I'm lucky I have a whole family who sometimes can be annoying but I know they care." Jake said. He got up at this point and started walking around looking at the broken statues. "This is where the skulls were destroyed the skulls which were evil and anyone could have made a wish so that every magical creature would be destroyed. I will never let that happen again."

"This is where you lost her wasn't it?" Sam said. Jake just nodded and continued to walk around the building roof. Sam got up as well and just stood there watching him. "I have pain too but it isn't right not to talk about it and to keep it hidden until one day you feel like you've got nothing. You can't do that."

"Maybe but sometimes I feel like it might be easier." Jake said to her. Sam walked over to him.

Sam made him look at her. She hugged him. He was shocked for a moment but hugged her back. "I will help you any way I can ok?" She said to him. He just nodded. 

Sam for some reason for felt like they were being watched.

She turned around and saw some members of the huntsclan right behind. Jake saw them as well and they both transformed into their dragon forms. "You wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?" Jake said to them.

None of them answered and just began attacking Sam and Jake.

/\/\/\/\/

A while later the huntsclan were defeated if only for the moment and they all ran away with their metaphorical tales between their legs. Sam and Jake both laughed for the moment it was funny to them run. They weren't that much of a threat at this point because they didn't have numbers on their side or the huntsmaster.

"We should get back it's getting late. Your father might worry." Jake said to her as they begun to fly away. They flew in the direction of their neighbourhood.

When they were on the corner of the street and there was no one around they reverted back to their human forms. "I hope there's no trouble for a while. I don't want to have to go through this every single day and end up feeling so tired." Sam said.

"Same here. Even though I train a lot I'd rather not have to go through this every day." Jake said and they began to walk down the street.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Sam said to him and walked up to her house. She wanted to sleep now until tomorrow when it would be a new day.


	8. Chapter 8

American Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. I own only the character known as Samantha and any other characters that are not recognised.

Notes: I have used Ink Gothical's dream sequence. Thank you so much for writing them.

Chapter 8

Sam woke up early the next morning she just couldn't help it. She had another dream about her friend Keir. He had saved her life from the evil society. She had told Jake about them but not all the details, as she did not know whether or not she could trust him.

She kept thinking about Keir a lot recently since she moved here. He was a bad guy there was no doubt about it but he never once mentioned her to his cult. She would be invaluable to them but they never even knew she existed and that was all down to Keir.

Sam got dressed for the day and decided to go for a quick jog. She still felt kind of tense from yesterday but hopefully a jog would knock her out of that. She got out of her house and just wanted to clear her mind.

Keir was the one person who would not hang out with her but she would see him around and she would go up and talk to him. It was a dangerous situation and she knew it but she wanted to see him again.

Sam jogged around the park continuously thinking about what happened when she last saw him and how final he was about it all. "I wish you were still here." She said outloud to herself as if he was right behind her.

She headed back to her place and grabbed her bag and coat as it had suddenly gotten a lot colder. She left her house and made her way to school.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sam was at school just before the bell had rung and she ran as fast as she to the classroom and was there on time just. She sat at her desk and put her head in her hands. She had all of a sudden developed a pounding headache.

"Jake Long, late again." Rotwood said to Jake as he sat down at his desk. Sam just stayed facing the front and looked at the board. She started feeling worse and pretty quickly.

"Right class lets start the lesson on mythical creatures. Today we study wood nymphs." Rotwood stated to the class. "Miss Mckenzie will you please pay attention?"

He slammed the pointer into her desk to try and get her attention. Sam was up with a start it seemed to bring her back round to what she was supposed to be doing. "What?" Sam said and Rotwood looked at her with disbelief.

"Usually one of my best students and you're not even paying attention detention this afternoon with Mr Long I am disappointed." He said to her.

Sam just tried to look like she was listening to him at least that way she couldn't get into anymore trouble and get another detention.

When the bell went it was like freedom everyone ran out of the classroom in a hurry. Sam got up and left the classroom knowing later she had to put up with Rotwood again but at least she had company this time.

"Hey Sam." A voice came from behind her. It was Jake and the others. Sam smiled at them. "Looks like we've got detention together this afternoon."

"Yeah I never expected to get detention within my first week that's a new record. Normally it's two before I get it." Sam said to them.

They walked down the hall together and got some lunch.


	9. Chapter 9

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon it belongs to the Disney Channel

Chapter 9

Sam and the others made their way to the cafeteria and got some food for their lunch. They sat down at their table. Jake, Trixie and Spud were talking about skateboards and people they had crushes on.

Sam was just staring off into space thinking about Keir once again. She missed him a lot and she would probably never see him again and that thought made her even more upset. "Hey Sam who do you have a thing for?" Trixie asked Sam.

"Huh? I've only been here less than a week, I don't have a thing for anyone yet." Sam said to Trixie. "I'll let you know when I do have thing though, promise."

"Ok you just seem lost in your thoughts. Something wrong?" Trixie said back to Sam. Sam looked at Trixie and just thought that she wasn't ready to say anything about Keir just yet.

"I'll let you know when I figure it out myself." Sam said to them all. She ended up eating her lunch lost in her thoughts. When the bell went they all went back to their classes.

/\/\/\/\/\//\/

The rest of the day ended up being rather dull. Sam at least feigned interest so that the rest of her teachers couldn't say that she wasn't interested. When the day was over Sam headed back over to Rotwood's classroom to take part in detention. She wondered what he would have her do.

She knew that every teacher that she had had detention with each had his or her own unique style. Some were better than others. Some had really bad detentions that after one or two detentions with a certain teacher the students would never do anything wrong again as to avoid being in another session of it.

She remembered one with her science teacher where she was forced to clean out jars filled with pickled animals. Sometimes she felt like it was something out of Harry Potter.

She saw Jake sitting there in the room waiting for Rotwood to turn back up. "Hey detention buddy." He said to her as she sat down in her usual place.

"So what does Rotwood like to do for detention." Sam said to Jake.

"The usual writing lines or clapping the board erasers. He just has it in for anyone who is over a minute late for his class." Jake said to her.

"Well I've experienced worse detentions than this one sounds." Sam said to him. Rotwood entered the classroom a few minutes later.

"Right you two I want you to write on the board how it is bad to be late and how it is rude not to listen to your respected principal Dr Hans Rotwood. I will be watching you." Rotwood said to them.

"Lets get this over and done with." Jake said to Sam and they both grabbed some chalk and started writing things down on their own individual boards. They did this for an hour until both boards were filled up.

"Come on I'll walk you home" Jake said when their detention was over. He put on his helmet and got onto his skateboard. "You know you could skateboard if you really wanted to."

"I don't feel like it I just want to be able to walk on my own two legs for the minute. I'll think about riding a skateboard ok?" Sam said to him and continued to walk along the sidewalk.

"You looked kind of preoccupied at lunch this afternoon?" Jake said to her as they made their way down the street.

"I was thinking about that friend I told you about. I had a dream about him last night." She told him. "I don't know it could just be me recovering from the shock of losing him so suddenly."

"Woah I had to lose my friend Rose but I had to let her go in order for to be able to get on with her life. I did it for her not for me and I'm happy for her." Jake said to her as they were now at their block.

"I'll see you tomorrow or maybe sooner if there's trouble." Jake said to Sam and went back to his house.

Sam made her way to her own thinking about her old life and comparing it with the one she had here with her father. She would have to try and forget about Keir like he told her to. But she just couldn't.


	10. Chapter 10

Another Dragon

Chapter 10

Sam was back at her house and stood in the doorway and looked around the place without the lights on. She switched the lights when she needed to walk around otherwise she would have tripped and landed on the floor. Sam went straight to her room and opened the window. She thought about Keir and how much she missed him.

Having him leave her life so suddenly Sam and Keir embraced for what they both knew would be the last time he had betrayed the dark society and now he would be punished. Sam thought about the last time she saw him. (Flashback)

"_**There has to be some sort of loop-hole" Sam whispered into his ear. They were standing outside of their school and she hugged him. He held onto her just as strongly. It was the end of an era. They worked like a team and it wouldn't be the same when he was gone.**_

"_**Sam" He said pulling away from the hug, he had tears in his eyes. "I need you to promise that when I leave today that you will NEVER follow me. You will NEVER try to find me. And you will NEVER try to help." He said. **_

"_**Keir" She started. She was shocked and scared for his own safety as well as her own. **_

'_**PROMISE!' Keir demanded. He didn't want to be like this with her but knew she wouldn't promise if he didn't get nasty about it. **_

'_**I PROMISE!' Sam shouted. **_

'_**Now I want you to close your eyes and count to ten.' Sam nodded at his**_

_**request and obliged. "Only when you've reached ten can you open them." She nodded again.**_

"_**Start counting." He said and she began mouthing the words. **_

_**She opened her eyes after "ten" and looked around for Keir, but he wasn't anywhere in sight. She felt the tears fall down her cheeks and heard tyres screeching in the far distance. **_

_**Sam just walked away from the school and was still crying as she made her way back home. She wondered if she would ever see her again. **_

End flashback.

Sam had opened up the window and just looked around at the street. The sun was still out but was currently setting in the sky.

She knew that if Keir was here then both her and Jake would be in trouble. It was strange to have to look out for someone other than herself when she was a dragon. She made a promise to him and she kept her word if she could.

Suddenly Sam heard her phone ring and it took her out of her train of thought. She went straight to the phone and picked it up. "Hello McKenzie residence." She said to whoever was on the other end.

"Sam its Jake we've got trouble. Meet me at the park in five minutes." Jake said to Sam.

"Ok I'll be there." She said and put the phone down. She sighed. Being a dragon meant that she didn't get a day off ever. But it was a life she didn't want to change. She changed into her dragon form and headed to the park.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sam looked over at the park and saw Jake and his grandfather waiting there for her. "What's the trouble?" She said as she landed in the park next to them.

"The HuntsClan are planning to bring back their lost leader." Jake said and looked around to make sure they weren't being watched. "We need to stop them from getting him back."

"I guess he must be one seriously valuable asset if they want him back." She said to him.

"Yeah if we didn't stop him then all magical creatures would be gone right now. He's seriously bad news." Jake said to Sam who was pacing around. "We have to find out what we can about this new situation but maybe we can stop them whilst their numbers are so few like they are at the moment. We have to make sure that we stay on top of them."

"Is there anything else?" Sam said to him. He shook his head and she reverted back to her human form. "Shall we check around the city in case there's trouble?"

Jake looked at her and reverted back to his human form. "Gramps I'm going to go and check the city with Sam. See ya later." He said and waved to his grandfather.

Both left the old man alone with his thoughts. 'I hope that there won't be any trouble bad enough so that they can't handle it.' He said to himself and flew off.


	11. Chapter 11

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. It's a good cartoon and that is why I write this fan fiction.

Chapter 11

As they were flying over the city careful not to be spotted but they got an great birds eye view of the city below. It was like a million fire flies that didn't move. It was different a little from Denver to Sam because there was more going on here.

"Well it might be quiet on the surface but that could always change." Sam said to Jake as they flew not too far away from each other. It wasn't easy working as a team but as for it they were doing ok together.

"Maybe it might be easier to look for trouble from the ground." Jake suggested and Sam thought for a second and then agreed with him. They then headed back toward an alleyway close to Jake's Grandfather's shop. They reverted to their human forms then decided to split up and head in separate directions.

Sam went towards the beach area of the city and just looked around for anything suspicious. But this end there wasn't anything to report back to them. In the end she just ended up taking a walk along the shore.

The sand felt good beneath her feet and as the water hit them it was kind of squelchy. The moon was full and the ocean was calm, waves hitting every now and again making that whoosh noise that it did when it hit the shore.

As she continued to walk, she wasn't sure for how long she had been going, her thoughts inevitably drifted back to Keir. It was always the same when she was alone with her thoughts that this happened and it was a lot because of the fact that it was an unopened chapter in her life. She did miss him but they were always going to end up separated at the end. She should let it go but for some reason she couldn't and she probably never will. That was a flaw of hers, she couldn't just let something go even though in this case it was for the best.

He was an evil person and his actions had proven that but to her he had never shown anything evil even going against his own kind and protecting her by walking away. It was the second most painful memory she had after losing her mother.

She stopped walking for a second and for a moment forgot how to breathe. She didn't mean to think about her mother but there it was and eventually a tear fell down her face. She mentally shook herself and said out loud.

"Pull yourself together."

It took a few minutes for her to compose herself but it worked and she felt the control shift back to her own body once again. She shivered and pulled her coat tighter around her. Then it was at this time deciding to give Jake a call and to end the search for the night. They could always pick up again in the morning.

But it was at this time that she saw a light coming from a far off point out into the ocean. She ended up deciding on taking a look anyway. It might be them or it might be a ship's signalling out to a nearby lighthouse.

She reverted into her dragon form and took off fast so that no one would see her. As she circled closer. She noticed a large platform raised above the sea but there were no oil platforms in this area of New York so it was very strange. It might only appear in the light of a new moon or whatever moon it came under. But whatever it was it was magical had to be.

Voices were coming from it quite loud and rather bumbling like two young kids. They were dressed in purple and were obviously with the huntsclan on account of their uniforms they had a 98 and 99 on them.

They were arguing a lot and so much for subtle. Sam couldn't make out what they were saying that well but she heard the words 'recruiting new members to replenish ranks' and 'need to bring back leader'. She panicked a little. This was way over her head, being the Denver dragon meant she only had to deal with these people a couple of times.

This was too much and she needed Jake's help right now. They had to stop it before it was too late.


	12. Chapter 12

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. It's a good cartoon and that is why I write this fan fiction.

Please review for me, am uploading loads of chapters. Two in quite close succession

Chapter 12

After seeing the two kids on the platform, the very same night Sam calls Jakes and tells him what happened. He is a little nervous to say the least because he had dealt with them a lot more than she had and knew the kind of damage the last leader had caused. She knew this had more than anything to do with Rose but he wouldn't speak too much about it and she didn't want to push.

She then ended the conversation with she'd see him at school that next day. They could come up with a game plan then. It would be a lot easier to figure this whole situation out. There would be no way he would let them come back after everything that had happened.

She decided to call it a night and turned off all the lights in her house and checked the alarm to make sure it was active. She then headed to her room and settled down for the night. That night she dreamed about him again. But there was nothing that could be done about that now.

\/\/\/\/\/\

The next day, Sam didn't wake up until after the alarm went off. It was loud and shrieking in her ear. She must've knocked it off the table when turning over and going back to sleep again. But it still kept going and eventually forced her out of her sleep. She muttered something as she woke herself up properly.

It was getting on and she had to be going so she ran into the bathroom as her father was about to go in.

"Sorry dad, running late this morning." She shouted from behind the door. She was already in the shower by the time her dad answered back, she heard him stalking away downstairs.

Sam hurried in the shower and then ran into her room, slamming the door behind her before drying off and pulling on a shirt and a skirt for a change. She tied her brown hair into a braid and grabbed her bag before leaving her room.

She bundled down the stairs to see her dad making her breakfast. He already placed a couple of slices of toast on her place whilst he made himself a cup of coffee.

"Thanks Dad." Sam uttered as she bit into the toast. She ended up feeling a lot better about what she had to do today.

"Anything happening today. Any after school clubs you're interested in attending? You might as well try and make some friends." He suggested to her.

"I already have made some friends and we'll probably hang out tonight so don't wait up for me ok?" Sam hurriedly walked out of the house. She smiled at the thought that she actually had already made some good friends. It usually took her a few weeks to make some friends, especially ones who weren't the kind to get suspicious about her constantly being unavailable at night and sometime s being tired at night.

It was interesting to see how a different dragon did exactly the same thing that she did and manage to hide it from everyone else. But now they'd both had the benefits of many years in that field of lying to other people.

She walked along the streets and saw other people getting ready for school or work. They were all generally chatting to their friends or family members. She quickly cast her eyes down to her watch and discovered that she still had plenty of time.

She made it to the school with about 20 minutes to go yet. So now that she was there she decided to wait outside to see if Jake and the others were coming. About 5 minutes later she heard the skateboards heading towards the school. She made to move out of the way because she didn't want to get pushed to the ground again.

Jake, Trixie and Spud all jumped off their boards and picked them up walking towards Sam.

"Hey Sam. What's up?" Trixie asked her as they all headed into the school. Jake obviously hadn't said anything to them about what had happened last night.

"Not much. Just normal stuff." Sam replied not sure what she could say. If Jake hadn't said anything there was obviously a reason for it. It was his call this time. He looked happy but there something else going on. Something behind his eyes like he was going to break, he was holding it together for the moment.

But that was it, how long would it last before he had to let it out? It would happen but she didn't know when.


	13. Chapter 13

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon

Chapter 13

The school bell rang and they didn't really have the chance to get to chat about a plan for this latest threat. It wasn't as if they could pass notes about it in class either not with Rockwood staring at them at every given opportunity.

"Today class we shall be learning all about dragons." He spoke with the usual measured authority that he continually put into his words. He turned to the white board and wrote down all the notes. He was wrong on so many things and this was one of the big ones.

He wrote up about how dragons were dangerous and fierce creatures and how they were the bane of the magical world. Jake didn't look that bothered about him saying these things but they bothered Sam something blind. Because she was new to this school she had no idea that her teacher would come up with all these ill founded facts. He knew nothing about dragons or whether or not they were the bane of the magical world.

'He's just a teacher and he doesn't know you personally or Jake for that matter.' She thought angrily to herself and looked over at Jake who looked back concerned that she couldn't keep that control over her own emotions or actions.

Professor Rockwood issued a pop quiz on the previous days' lesson. The rest of the class time was in silence the only noises heard were the scratching of pencils and breathing. It was so horrible that by the time the bell went Sam wanted to jump for joy.

She all but ran out of the class room to her locker putting her books out and pulled her next class books out closing her locker with a thud. She lost Jake and the others in the crowd of students rushing to their next lesson.

The next class went by a lot quicker because of the non targeted persecution that Rockwood had pointed out. She managed in the end to get rid of it and bring back her more positive attitude again. After all it was just the one teacher not all of them.

It was now lunchtime and Sam was in the cafeteria before Jake and the others and was sat all on her own and waiting for them wasn't much fun especially when Brad was now approaching her table.

'Does he not learn his lesson that easily?' She mentally shuddered wishing Jake and the others would hurry up. But too late he was already here.

"Hey, Sam you mind if I sit here?" Brad asked her as she was eating her lunch.

'No.' She thought in her mind and it was too late because he was already sitting down. Chivalry truly was dead. He didn't even wait for her answer. What a jerk.

He was trying make conversation with her but she just ignored him and he wouldn't get the message that she wasn't interested in him. He wasn't going to take no for an answer this one. Even if she did use the small words.

"Who are you waiting for? Jake and his loser gang?" He snidely asked her as he followed her view to the cafeteria door.

"Yeah, actually I am and these seats are for them not you? So would you just leave?" Sam finally spoke out having had enough of this game. It was starting to get ridiculous now.

"This is a free country and I can sit wherever I want." Brad annoyingly smirked at her and she just ended up leaving the table not knowing that he was still following her.

"You know sitting wherever you want is not against the law but following me is. Just leave me alone." She said and ended up doing the whole dance of wherever she sat he followed and she ended up dumping her food in the trash and leaving the cafeteria.

Brad ended up smirking at the door. "She so wants me." He said to his friends who were just nodding their heads and agreeing with him. The girl was playing hard to get. But she'd be his girl for sure.

\/\/\/\/\/\

She seethed as she made her way back to her locker. If only Jake and the others had turned up but they must have got held up with something important. So now she was hungry and annoyed with the jock who wouldn't leave her alone.

"Hey Sam what's wrong?" Jake and the others were at her side after seeing her walk out of the cafeteria.

"Nothing much just Brad not getting the message." Sam said slamming her locker door. "Honestly when boys told me they weren't interested I understood that but this guy doesn't seem to get it."

"What do you mean?" Jake asked clearly not understanding.

Sam was about to repeat herself when Trixie took hold of the conversation.

"Brad is hitting on you and you just told him you were off the radar and he didn't let up." Trixie spoke to both Jake and Spud and then they understood what had happened.

"Well do you want us to talk to him about it?" Spud asked her as he just leaned against the other lockers watching the blonde cheerleader again. He wasn't really aware of what he was doing.

"No I have to deal with this myself or hope that he loses interest." Sam spoke back quickly and headed towards the next class just as the bell went the others following closely behind her.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sam had never been more grateful for the end of the day. She kept walking out of the door when Jake and the others followed outside. They were also glad for the end of the day.

"Well are you going to come out and hang with us?" Jake asks her as they make their way down the street. She looked concerned for him now because this was the first time they'd been alone today. It was not something that they could just talk about here and now it had to be a secret.

"Yeah lets have some fun." Sam retorted and she really meant that after the day that they'd had. They headed towards the skate park again.

Jake and the others tried to convince her that it would be a good idea for her to try the skateboard. She eventually gave in wanting to be able to show that she could do it. She ended up falling on her face a few times but in the end she was skating slowly not doing any tricks.

The others held in their laughter at her falling over but did show some encouragement and she was happy that in the end she managed to make it a few minutes without falling over.

After a while it started to get dark and Trixie and Spud left Jake and Sam alone. Now was the time to be having the conversation that they were both dreading. They made their way to Jake's Grandfather's shop and shut the door behind them.

"It's about time you got here, young one." His grandfather said as they settled down on one of the couches.

"Sorry Gramps. Just out having some fun." Jake answered. He sat down next to Sam who was looking back at him.

"Well now to get down to the important stuff." Foo Dog spoke dragging over a map of the city. He'd already pinpointed the oil platform that Sam had found.

"There has to be a way to find out more about what they are planning." Sam joined in with the conversation. She wanted to be as much a part of this as she could.

"Maybe if one of us were to infiltrate the hunts clan then-" Sam said but then Jake shook his head in complete disagreement.

"No not going to happen. They already know of me and it could be trouble-" Jake interrupted her and wasn't going to let the matter rest.

"But they don't know of me do they? I can be the eyes on the inside." Sam suggested and Gramps and Foo Dog agreed with that part of the plan. But it was obvious that he didn't want it to happen.

"Spud and I already did this once and it didn't end the way we thought that it would so I don't think we should repeat it." Jake vehemently said. He didn't want her to get involved like this.

"This could be the only way that we can find out about what they want to do in more detail. You have to at least let me try." She tried to reason with him and he stood up, ready to leave at a moments notice.

"No just no." Jake retaliated and left just like that.

Sam wasn't sure what she had said to him to make him react this way.

"I don't get it why would he just go off like that?" Sam asked Jake's Grandfather. She was more confused by how he didn't want her to get involved. Technically she already was.

"Jake found Rose whilst he and the other kid were undercover as part of the hunts clan. It isn't easy for him to deal with them all over again. Just give him time I am sure he will come around." He said and left her to her own thoughts.

So it was about Rose after all. He lost her and this was all dredging it up again. She felt sympathy for Jake but he had overcome it in order to be free of that kind of pain. But she wasn't really one to talk about that kind of thing.

The only thing she could really do was to find Jake and try to talk him round. If it was bad with the hunts clan last time then who knows how bad it would be this time.


	14. Chapter 14

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon

Chapter 14

Sam left the shop and headed into the back alley and transformed into her dragon form. She ended up flying over the city looking for Jake. She was really concerned for him because there was no way he would go home with the mood that he was in. She couldn't just leave him out here all alone.

Half an hour into her flight she spotted him on the very same roof as before. It was getting to be one of the spots that he hanged out at when feeling low. She felt helpless when he was like this because she could only do so much to help him.

She was afraid that he would continue to fight her plan to find out more information about the hunts clan. She needed to convince him to help her and then maybe she could help him as well this was obviously having a really bad emotional affect on him and it would end up either him reverting back to a human or getting a magical creature put in danger.

She ended up landing on the roof quietly behind him, his face was buried in his hands. She reverted back into her human form and sat down beside him.

"If I spoke out of turn about the hunts clan then I am sorry." Sam spoke softly trying to make him feel a little more in control about the situation.

"This isn't something that is easy to talk about." Jake answered back showing his head finally. He looked over at her, trying to make her understand about this.

"I know that Rose is off limits for you to talk about to other people so I won't push but I am here and so are your friends and family if you ever feel the need to vent about it." Sam answered about to leave when he grabbed her hand.

"Thanks Sam." Jake said and pulled her to sit back down. She was watching him carefully, he didn't look like he wanted to be alone. So she sat down with him again not really saying anything because what could she say? She could only do so much and he had to do the rest.

"No problem." She replied. The night was rather beautiful tonight as she looked up at the clear blue skies. The stars were like little lights above shining down from above.

It wasn't easy for a guy to talk to a girl about his feelings unless he was really down on his luck or really sure about the impact of what he wanted to say. But Sam didn't know if this was one of those situations. He was a guy so she didn't really know if he would speak to her about it.

"There was nothing that could be done for Rose so I wished for her to have a normal life and it was right for her and that was that mattered. But there isn't a day that goes by that I don't miss her." Jake spoke after a while feeling like he should break the silence that had become deafening.

Sam was quiet whilst he continued to speak about the famous Rose. It wasn't everyday that someone wanted to spew all their emotions out. Maybe this was what he needed: Someone to listen to him get out what he wanted to say. It might be the thing that made him let go.

"I just wish it could have gone another way but that would have been selfish. She's free and happy and that's the way it should have been all along." Jake added and then just looked out at the stars as if saying that she could cut in now.

She didn't really know what she could really say to him about this. She'd never felt like that not really anyway. It was more high school crushes and unreasonable expectations. This was where the learning curve was for her. They may both be mythical guardians for magical creatures but they were very human at this point right down to the soul and emotions.

"If you keep thinking about it then it will end up making you sick. Or worse." Sam spoke not sure really what she was thinking about at the time.

"Yeah I guess you're right but I still don't think that your plan of infiltrating the hunts clan is a good idea." Jake told her not expecting her to understand his hesitation still even after everything.

"Then help us come up with a better idea if not then there is no other option." She replied to him trying to show him that there might not be another way.

She ended up sitting in silence for a while longer before checking her watch and deciding that it would be about time for her to be home.

"I should go and so should you it's a school night." Sam pointed out and again got to her feet but this time so did Jake.

"Thank you for listening to me, Sam." He spoke quietly as he reverted into his dragon form and she did the same. She smiled at him and then they flew off in different directions.

\/\/\/\\/\/\

Sam got back to her home, changing back just as she got to the alley behind where she lived. She entered the house and found that her dad still wasn't home. It must have been one of the times that he'd been put on the late shift or he was out with some friends from work. Either way it was getting late now and she had more school in the morning.

She ended up making herself some dinner and then watching some television for a while. About 45 minutes later she decided that there was nothing good on and she headed off to bed in the end.

The nights sleep was actually all right compared to the previous nights. She woke up before her alarm that day instead of after it.

She scrubbed the sleep from her eyes and moved to sit up in her bed, switching off the alarm so that it wouldn't wake her dad up.

Needing a shower she made her way to the bathroom and put the shower on. She wanted to walk to school with Jake this morning so maybe they could start to talk about everything.

She got out of the shower dressed and dried herself. She put on some fresh clothes, grabbed her bag and left her room. Making herself some breakfast she put the television on again. Nothing much on again though but it was early morning.

She finished her toast and put the plate into the dishwasher and closed it. She left a note for her dad telling him that she had left early and would be back later. She closed the door behind her and walked the couple of blocks to Jake's house.

Sam was in his area now and knocked and the door finding a younger girl with pigtails and a purple outfit came to the door.

"Hi." Sam spoke to the little girl and she looked over what she could see of the house. "Is Jake in?"

"JAKE!! A girl is here to see you." Hayley shouted and their mum and dad literally flinched and Jake came running down the stairs.

"Hayley let her in." Jake was grabbing his bag and his skateboard. "Doesn't matter, lets go Sam."

She walked down the steps with him and he pulled his helmet and safety gear on. They didn't say anything on the way to school because neither wanted to broach the subject of the hunts clan or Jake becoming the emotional type.

They made it a couple of blocks and Trixie and Spud were joining them from across the street. They were the one who really started the conversations. Then all of a sudden they were at the school, time really flew fast. Well faster than they could anyway.

It was another new day and what could be on the cards for today, none of them knew.


	15. Chapter 15

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon

Chapter 15

The bell had rung out its shrill ring and they all made their way into their classroom. Sam was struggling to get to her seat as everyone was shoving around her to be seated before the teacher came in once again.

"Alright class settle down right this second!" The shout that Rotwood had let escape scared the heck out of them all. He walked through the door and put his briefcase on the desk and almost looked the same as if he didn't want to be there as well. He pulled out his notes and pulled out the chalk for the board.

"Today we are studying more on the habits of dragons, there will be a test on what we learn on this topic at the end of the week. It will be a serious part of your grade so I suggest you study this material carefully." He added before beginning to read from the place that they'd stopped at yesterday.

Everyone flinched at the noise of the chalk hitting the chalkboard sounding like someone's nails were being dragged across it. How Professor Rotwood did not notice was a miracle.

Sam was watching what he was writing as she copied down the notes every now and again making sure that her words were at least staying in some semblance of a straight line. It was funny that sometimes her words were all over the place and sometimes they would stay in their line.

She struggled to remain focused to Rotwood's lecture about why a dragon had such strong scales. He said it was because they didn't wash regularly.

'Oh my God, where did this guy dig this stuff up.' Sam thought to herself as she continued to take notes anyway. She wasn't going to get in trouble for not taking them down. Even if they were WRONG.

She was so thankful when the bell rang an hour later. She was in a hurry to get out of this class, the atmosphere change was a welcome thing when she escaped Rotwood's room.

Jake was just behind her as she continued to walk to her locker. It was enough to be in the same room as someone who had had a lot more practice at biting his tongue and not calling Rotwood's errors out in front of the whole class.

"I don't know how much of what he's saying I can take." She whispered to Jake and he just nodded in understanding. The roles were reversed from the other night. It was so strange to her.

"Just think of it like this, he will be off us soon enough." Jake spoke and then he and her both made their way to the next class.

The day till lunch was uneventful and when it was lunchtime again. Sam waited for Jake and the others this time because she knew that Brad would try again to annoy her to death. Figuratively speaking of course. Oh the agony that that would cause her.

Jake was in front of her getting his food from the lunch ladies and she was right behind him as they moved along the queue, Brad had not yet come into the cafeteria.

They all sat around the same table as usual after they'd gotten their lunch, chatting about all the things you would chat about in high school. It was about halfway through lunch when Brad finally walked through the double doors and into the cafeteria.

He had her tracked in his sights once again like infra red vision. He was watching her like she was a ball on the football field which was actually the only place he back up his inflated ego. What did he think that every girl would want to date him.

"He's watching me again." Sam muttered under her breath. Trixie watched him watch Sam and found it sweet.

"Maybe you should give him a chance, Sam. He might surprise you." She said to Sam, trying to convince her that it might be her way into the popular crowd.

"I don't know, I don't normally find myself attracted to football players. Especially ones with an ego." Sam spoke back to Trixie. She continued to eat her lunch whilst watching Brad, who was controlling his own urge to push the others out of the way and sit next to her again.

"Trix, it's up to her you know give her a chance to breathe." Jake finally spoke up now watching Brad also he was uncomfortable for Sam because of the leery look that Brad was giving her. It was making him almost choke on his food.

"Thanks, Jake." Sam said and finished her lunch feeling Brad staring daggers into the back of her neck. As long as they were around her she at least wasn't going to have to put on with Brad's attempts at talking to her, which at the current moment left her feeling drained.

But as she went to put her lunch tray in the area that it was supposed to be in this was when he struck like a bird of pray going to get its dinner. Oh God not again, she thought.

"Hey Sam, I wanted to talk to you all during lunch but you were surrounded by Jake and his loser friends." Brad smirked at her now alone and undefended by the others. She didn't have a choice now. Either talk to him or walk away.

"What do you want Brad?" Sam asked him really getting annoyed with him now because it just kept happening like this.

"Well I was just wondering if you'd like to go out on Saturday? You know see a movie or something?" He asked seemingly playing the fool. He was making a big show of it so that she would have to answer him.

Instead of opting for the obvious 'No' that she so wanted to give him. But when she looked over at Trixie who was giving her the thumbs up, telling her to go for it.

Sam sighed and then gave him her answer. "I will think about it." She then left the room.

She couldn't believe that she had just agreed to maybe think about going out with a jock. How could she have done that? As she was about to walk back in there and say no she ended up thinking that maybe it could be her way of seeing if this guy wanted to go out with her to get one up on anyone else.

She'd find out her answers if she did go out with him and that would hopefully end this situation and she could go back to finding her way in a new school. How ridiculous was this situation?

She went to her locker and opened it up pulling out the books that she needed for the afternoon. Hopefully she could avoid Brad for the rest of the day and get her head straight about this whole matter.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The day ended once again and all were grateful for the reprieve that it left them with. The whole crowd of students were all barging towards the school exits with enthusiasm so they could now have the fun they wanted to have.

"Ok what was all that about?" Jake asks her as they walk down the street. He was obviously talking about lunch.

"What?" Sam turns around to face him and sees that he isn't exactly being subtle about it. "Me thinking about going out with Brad? I thought maybe if I did this then he'd leave me alone."

"But he's....." Jake left the sentence in the air as it looked like he might have gotten an earful from Sam or Trixie. He didn't even want to finish it from the look that Trixie was giving him.

"Maybe he is but maybe he might be different. Its my choice Jake, not yours." Sam told him before turning back to walk away from him again. She had had enough of this. She put the space between them necessary for him to get the message.

"Ok, can I be the first to say don't annoy the other dragon!" Trixie almost shouted but kept her voice down on the 'dragon' word. She knew that it didn't really compare to what Sam might be feeling right now. "It's up to her, Jake and nothing you do or say can change that."

"But he's all wrong for her." Jake retorted to Trixie as he leaned against the wall of the building they were walking by. He didn't understand why he felt so against the idea of her going out with Brad.

"How would you know that, Jakey boy?" Trixie told him, not knowing why he would say something like that. "You've known her a few days and aside from your other activities that you two do together then you don't really know that much about her."

"It's probably because you don't really like Brad and you don't want him around Sam in that capacity." Spud interrupted after just watching his two best friends argue about the other girl.

Or it could be a lot worse. He didn't want to think like that but it could end up being the worst thing to happen to him since Rose went away.


	16. Chapter 16

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. I only own the characters that are unrecognisable to you readers.

Chapter 16

Sam was seething as she walked down the street to her home. How could Jake think that he could control who she went out with? Half the time she didn't even know what she wanted in life and Brad certainly wasn't one of those things but she had to give him a test drive like a new toy or a car. It wasn't something she was particularly sure about at this point in time, was she doing this now to prove Jake wrong or because she genuinely wanted to see if she was right or wrong?

She was now at her door, pushed the key into the lock and turned it. She called out for her dad, but he wasn't home again. She was glad for the silence as it gave her the chance to think about what she was going to do about Brad and now about Jake for that matter. She couldn't afford to have him off side at the moment, especially with the Hunts Clan situation. She needed him just as he did her. But he was wrong and he needed to realise that.

She shoved her bag to the floor and went to make herself a snack and put the television on in the kitchen so she could at least see what was going on in the rest of New York and the world. A young lady in a smart red suit and blonde hair was reporting on some fashion show or something. Not much going on today then, makes a change because there was a lot going on in the magical world.

'Well I'd better get going on that trig assignment otherwise I'll never get it done.' She thought and grabbed her before ascending the stairs to her room. This was a welcome reprieve and it gave her some focus for something other than the drama from school or her magical responsibilities.

She pulled out her pen and started to do the homework.

\/\/\/\/\/\

It took her a couple of hours but she finished her homework in good time. It was now almost 6 in the evening. Her father still wasn't home again. But he might have pulled the late shift again or gone out for a drink with work colleagues. It was good for him, a change for the constant tirade of normal life, but life with her and her secret identity wasn't exactly fun for him and he deserved to have some.

She finally shut her books and decided that now would be a good time to see if Jake was down at his Grandfathers shop. He might be there or he might not be. But they still had to come up with a plan for the Hunts Clan and how to stop them re banding. It was a lot more important than what happened today and both had to get past it.

She grabbed her coat and keys and left the house once again, deciding that now was as good a time as any to get down there.

She made her way down the streets of New York, seeing kids out playing and people walking their dogs. Where she lived was a nice enough area and people still did that classic things like walking their dogs and their children could play peacefully in the streets.

'Must be nice to be that care free and happy.' She thought as she laughed a little to herself. To be that free was something she might never ever know but she gladly gave it so that magical creatures were free from the tyranny that often threatened to rule them.

She was now on the correct street and sneaked a peek through the window of Jake's Grandfather's shop. He was in there with Foo Dog and his Grandfather. Jake was slumped over the couch, looking exhausted, Sam felt a little guilty for shouting at him in the first place but he did have it coming.

She decided that enough was enough and walked through the door and into the shop, the bell tinkling showing her entrance. She looked around and Jake's Grandpa came through the door, expecting it to be a customer.

"Ah, it is good to see you again, Sam." He said to her and motioned for her to come through to the back of the shop. She followed him, once again assuming that this would be the start of their planning session.

Jake seemed to brighten up when he saw Sam come through the door but she didn't exactly look at him and was more to the point of avoidance toward him than anything else.

"So shall we continue the discussion from the other night?" Foo Dog started to drag the map over once again.

'Hopefully the kid will not bolt this time' He thought to himself and when he looked over at Jake's Grandpa who was probably thinking the exact same thing. It was beyond a typical bout of teenage angst now.

They started to plan again but the topic of how they would find out more information once again turned to Sam's idea of infiltrating the Hunts Clan. Jake wasn't budging on the 'No' front of this idea. Even though it did have its advantages, but the one disadvantage came shining through once again.

Sam had not had the dealings with the Hunts Clan that Jake had had. So it would be easier for her to slip up and then everyone would be in jeopardy.

"But if we don't try then what will happen will be much worse?" Sam reasoned with him, once again feeling frustrated that Jake was going to keep cutting down her ideas.

"There is no point in you going up against something that you have not had much experience with." Jake retorted back to her, not really giving her the chance to at least try and get him onside with the idea.

"But how can I even get that experience when you won't even give me the chance to try and unless you can come up with a better idea then this is the one we should use." Sam was now standing up ready for the eventual and imminent confrontation that was now coming.

"No. This is the end of it." Jake was now standing and he had that look on his face that said 'this is over'.

"You've been like this ever since Brad asked me out this afternoon. What is your problem, Jake?" Sam was really getting annoyed now.

Jake obviously didn't want to answer that. Trixie and Spud weren't here to stop him from saying anything stupid. So he had no choice but to turn away from her. But she wasn't letting up and she was getting even more upset with his attitude toward the situation.

"I don't have to do this." He upped and left just like that.

"Sam, you need to sort whatever this is out. It would be disastrous for Jake and yourself if you don't" Jakes Grandfather spoke before sitting down on the couch himself.

Sam nodded and left the shop to find Jake, this time though she didn't have to fly to find him, he was walking down the street. She had to run to catch up with him. This couldn't end this way and she wasn't going to let him make it worse and neither was she.

"Jake, hold on." She was now behind Jake and he had now stopped. The street where they were was deserted for some strange reason. She noticed this also and was weirded out but was grateful for it at the same time.

"I have no right to tell you who you can go out with. I am sorry Sam." It was good enough for the moment but that didn't even seem to hit the tip of what he was going through and caused him to have this attitude about her.

"This isn't the end of this and I would be foolish to think that it would be." She replied back to him. It was obvious that it bothered him, the idea of her going out with someone like Brad.

"If it bothers you that much about Brad then I won't go out with him, I value your friendship more than him any day of the week." She turned away from him after saying this. It was embarrassing for her, she had put herself one the line once again. Now he had to step up and do the same thing or it would end up destroying them.

"I just don't want you to end up like Rose." He spoke from behind her, grabbing her hand and she froze up at that. He was now officially about to lose it. "She dated Brad and you are following down that path."

"But I'm not Rose, Jake and you need to deal with that. I'm just Sam and that is all I will ever be." Sam was resigned to the fact that Jake almost thought she was a Rose Clone. It was really not flattering to find him thinking that she was a replica for his old flame.

She was going to leave now before she sunk further into this ideal. It wasn't fun and she didn't want it to end worse than it was now.

Jake still hadn't let go of her hand and she turned now to face him to make him let her go, only to find that he was looking down at the ground. He was obviously considering her words and they weighed heavily on his mind, it was like he was internally wrestling with the right words to say but he couldn't think about what he could say that would be right.


	17. Chapter 17

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon

Chapter 17

Sam was still frozen to the same spot with Jake holding her hand. She turned to face him and pulled her hand out of his, she almost felt like crying out because she saw how lost he seemed to look now. As if she was the one who had made him that way, it was dredging up all the feelings of sadness he had when he first lost Rose.

"I'm sorry." Sam apologised to him, in a small voice now feeling that dead weight once again settle into her bones. She hated this feeling but there wasn't much that she could do about it right now. It was one of those bouts of teenage hormone induced emotion came into play. It was as uncontrollable as the sun rising and setting.

He pulled her close to him in a hug that she wasn't expecting. She flinched at this because it was so out of character for him. He was so out of his emotional depth right now that this felt weird. She put her arms right around his shoulders and placed her head on his shoulders.

'Why was he acting this way?' She thought to herself at his actions. He wasn't dealing with it like most guys weren't able to show their feelings about girls or their emotions. He was out of his depth for the second time in as many days.

"What is up with you right now?" Sam asked him, really wanting to know this time. She looked at his face and he still wasn't saying a word, the silence was now unbearable for her. She couldn't take much more of this.

"I don't know but I can't stop feeling like this. It happens whenever Rose is brought up and this situation with Brad isn't helping." Jake moved away from her and leant back against a nearby building.

Before they could continue, there was a loud bang coming from straight ahead of them. Jake and Sam were both frozen to the spot until they saw who it was that had caused the noise that had made them stop in their tracks.

What they saw was what they feared most: The Hunts Clan. Or at least a few more members. It seemed that some of the lower levels had survived as they hadn't been marked as true members with the dragon tattoo over a part of their body. But it would appear that they had made their way over to New York to take out the American Dragon. Their biggest problem.

Sam was about to transform when Jake pulled her into the nearby alleyway. "You can't show them who you are otherwise they will not stop until they kill you and everyone who knows you." He was almost in stoic mode now as opposed to before. He was in the zone now, he hated the Hunts Clan more than anything he'd ever faced before now.

"We have to stop them now or they'll be too much for us to handle." She whispered to him as they pulled deeper into the alley to conceal them from the Hunts Clan. It wasn't as great a place to hide but was the only one that was adequate for the moment.

"The device showed that the American Dragon was right here. Check all the alleys." A superior member of the Hunts Clan ordered his subordinates. He wasn't going to take any chances this time.

Several members dressed in the full black and purple suits with the skeleton shaped helmets split up and started to search the empty street. They were all over this street like a well organised gang. Or organisation.

As they were headed toward where Jake and Sam were, Jake saw a ladder ascending to the top of the very same building they were in between. Jake motioned to Sam to go up it. She nodded and started to climb it, she wanted so badly to chase these guys off but it was Jake's call this time.

The noise of them climbing up the metal ladder alerted the Hunts Clan members to where they were. They lit up their staffs, the hisses and green light were errant in the silence of the night. They all descended upon the alleyway.

"Hurry, Sam." Jake whispered and he followed her quickly up the ladder to the top of the roof. When they were both up there, they transformed into their dragon forms. "We have to go now."

Sam nodded and they both took off, their wings loudly crashing against the wind. They weren't that far away when several of the Hunts Clan were now on the same roof and firing their staffs at them.

"Keep flying no matter what." Jake said to her and he was by her side throughout this whole thing. The blasts were very often long shots but a lot of them got close enough to hit Sam. They hit her wing a times and it was enough to make her start to dive bomb towards the ground. Jake grabbed hold of her and helped her to fly away from the whole mess down below them.

She was in a bit more pain than when Jake had accidentally hit her with his flame breath. This was all over one of her wings. "It'll be alright Sam." He tried to calm her down. He hadn't been expecting this to happen tonight of all nights.

\/\/\/\/\/

They had managed to get away from these people without revealing who they were. Aside from Sam getting hurt it was a successful escape.

Sam and Jake reverted back to their human forms, deciding against going to his Grandfather's shop, unsure of what to tell Jake's old mentor. It was enough for tonight so that they could get their story together. What a tale that would be to tell.

They made their way to Sam's house as Jake's house was also off limits. Her father should be home by now. If not then she'd have to try and get Jake to patch her up instead. She unlocked the door and pushed it open.

"Dad, you home?" There was no reply and Sam sighed. She needed him and he was probably still out with his friends. Well it was annoying as she was injured but what could she do? She headed towards the bathroom telling Jake to wait in the living room.

She pulled out the first aid kit from the top of the medical cabinet that was in the bathroom. There were bandages and antiseptic and other first aid pieces in it. She laid it out on the floor, taking out what she needed to have: Bandages and the antiseptic.

She removed her jacket and pulled the cloth from her body, putting it on the ground. She grabbed the cloth from the sink and daubed it in the antiseptic. She applied it to the burn marks on her arms a few times, hissing each time she did so as it really did hurt.

As soon as she was sure that she'd done all she could for now without it becoming infected, she applied the bandages and wrapped them around her arm, securing them with a couple of safety pins. When she was satisfied with her handiwork- for the moment anyway- she went down the stairs to find Jake sitting on one of the chairs in the living room.

"Ok all fixed for now." She put a smile on her face in order to reassure him that everything was a okay. Even though after what had happened it was anything but. She was scared and confused and he was just most likely confused.

How could this have happened so quickly? They'd only just found out about the Hunts Clan again and now there were several of them around. Sam was more annoyed because before all of that they'd almost had a breakthrough with Jake and his emotional state about Rose. Now these clowns in the costumes had to come and spoil that success.

He looked up at her and saw that she winced as she raised her damaged arm to show him. He felt a little guilty for that, but he couldn't have known that this was going to happen any more than she could have. It was just irrational guilt anyway, misplaced.

"I'm sorry." He said and he sunk further into his chair as the situation got further on top of him. Sam sighed under her breath at seeing his attitude sink further into a depression.

"Listen, this wasn't your fault and stop thinking that it was or what will happen next. They attack again and you think you are at fault then as well. You couldn't have predicted this any more than I could have." Sam was sitting in front of him at this point. She hated to see him this way and there had to be way for her to help him overcome this.

"This pity fiasco has to be over, Jake and I mean right now." She moved away from him and put her hand over her eyes as if she had started to get a migraine.

"What do you mean pity fiasco!" He was up on his feet and in her face less than a second later. Now he was getting angry.

"You've been like this for the last 2 days and it needs to stop right now. You need to realise that Rose is in a better place. With her family and all that happened was never your fault but that of the Hunts Clan. You did your best and it all worked out in the end." Sam removed her hand from her eyes and showed him that she meant business about this.

"How would you know what it is I feel aside from what I told you?!" Jake spat back, even more angry than before. Sam was resilient in her stead. She wasn't letting up on him and maybe this would be the thing that helped him get over what had happened.

"Because I know that it hurts you, the way you speak about it, like it leaves a bad taste in your mouth and you can't help but think about it every time this kind of thing comes up. The past is the past but you learn from it and try to move on and that is what you need to do. Take it from someone who knows." She couldn't help but turn away from him at saying this. Thinking and talking about it were bringing back the bad memories for her as well.

Jake sighed and went to sit back down again, now feeling the weight of his emotions getting to him once again. Sam went down to kneel in front of him again, just to show some sign of togetherness that maybe would help him.

She made him look at her and he did so seeing her really for the first time since before the Hunts Clan's attack. It was like every thing was becoming clearer for them all of a sudden.

"Sam, why do you keep trying to make me deal with this?" Jake was watching her questioning, why she was invested in making him open up.

"Because of something that your grandfather said to me. He told that if we didn't sort this out then it could be disastrous for us all." She turned away from him at saying this.

"Ok. If gramps notices it then maybe we should sort it out." He was now giving in. He knew that his grandfather's words were the final straw to this so called 'pity fiasco' that he had apparently been on.

\/\/\/\/\/\

They spent what seemed like ages - what was really only a couple of hours - talking about what Jake was going through and it made him feel a lot better. They'd talked a lot in the past few days since she'd arrived in the city.

When they'd finished talking it was about half past 9 at night and seeing as it was a school night now it was getting late.

"You should go." Sam said as she checked the time on the mantelpiece clock.

"Yeah, getting late and all." Jake reciprocated and walked to the door, feeling more like himself than he had for a little while.

They made their way to the door but Jake didn't seem to want to leave just yet.

"Thank you for helping me out." He said to her.

"I didn't do anything sometimes just listening helps. If you ever need to talk about anything then you have people who will listen." She replied back and leant against the door frame. She was happy to see him a little more like himself.

Jake was about to take off when he did something completely out of character for himself – that was not really a long stretch for him these days – he kissed Sam on the cheek in gratitude and then left her standing there frozen as before when he had hugged her.

From that moment to this when he just laying in his room looking up at the sky at night he don't know what possessed him to do that. Showing her that side of him was only going to cause more confusion and this time he didn't know what to do about it.


	18. Chapter 18

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. I own Sam, though.

Chapter 18

Sam woke up the next morning, she was smiling until she remembered what had occurred the previous night. Just when she thought that her friendship with Jake was going to be alright, Jake had to do something that would only re complicate it all over again. Why did he kiss her? Only on the cheek but why? What would possess him to do something like that in the first place?

She was afraid to face him now but she couldn't be seen to miss school otherwise her father would be concerned about why she had done so. So she ended up throwing caution to the wind and getting up and heading to get washed and dressed for the school day. Her arm still hurt and was wrapped around her shoulder so she would have to wear a jacket over her arms all day even if it did get hot all of a sudden.

About 30 minutes later she was out of the shower and fully dressed ready for the day ahead. She had some breakfast before getting her bag and leaving the house once again. The one thing she had to think about was what she would do about Brad. Now that the whole situation with Jake had just more or less blown up in her face what would she do about him?

She'd made a promise and she really didn't want to go back on it but after had happened what would be Jake's reaction if she did go out with Brad? At the moment all it did was cause her to have a headache.

She would avoid walking to school with him as to clear her head and hopefully gain some perspective on how best to sort this whole mess out. As she walked down the street she avoided Jake's street but saw him coming out of the house anyway and almost ran to get far enough away so that he wouldn't see her.

She felt guilty for doing this but what choice did she have? Hopefully a little bit of space and time would give them a chance to forget that it ever happened. But maybe because of the fact that they were teenagers it wouldn't work out that way. Because they had to work together when the magical world called for it it wouldn't be so easy.

She made it to school with a few minutes to spare. As she ascended the steps, Brad came up behind her.

"Hey Sam, you thought anymore about the offer of a date with me?" He put his arm around her and she elbowed him which in turn forced him to let go. He wasn't very happy about it but still that didn't put him off going after this girl.

"I am sorry, Brad but the answer is no. I don't want to go out with you." She spoke back as she started to walk away from him but he cut her off from getting into the school. Other students were getting agitated by Brad blocking the way and they shoved him and he ended up landing on his posterior.

He didn't look happy but this gave Sam the chance to get away from him at least until lunch time. She felt bad for him because he didn't actually do anything that was really bad, he was just a little annoying to her.

Sam got to her locker and shoved her bag inside, grabbing her notebook and books that she knew she would need for the starting lessons. She walked into Rockwood's classroom and saw that Jake was not yet there. There were barely any other students in the room and the teacher was not there either.

'Thank God for that.' Sam thought to herself. She sat at her usual desk and just sighed at the chance for a bit of peace and quiet. People were talking around her and just ignoring which suited her just fine after all that had just happened.

She got out her notebook and began sketching in the back of it, really waiting for the day to begin, Sam was beginning to get a little stir crazy. How long did it really take for school to begin.

She was just doodling when Jake and his friends walked in and she just caught his look for a second before caving under the intensity of it, it was obvious that they were going to have to again talk about this.

But before she even had chance to consider what she would say to him, Rockwood entered the room with his usual maudlin attitude. Why was he not one of those teachers who just was happy to see his students? This was high school, when wasn't there an off day for either students or teachers?

"Students today we will be learning all about trolls." He slammed his briefcase on the dead so that it made all of the students jump in their seat, they weren't expecting him to do that. But they just ignored it and more or less focused on what the teacher was doing.

Rockwood went on about the differences in trolls, like the colour of their skin and that they were like 8ft tall and virtually indestructible and they were smarter than dragons.

Sam almost scoffed out loud at what the teacher was saying. It was WRONG again. How did he ever become a professor?

She did know about trolls, very often they were shorter than her, green and somewhat intelligent. You could scare them off by blowing fire at them, but they were actually quite gutsy. Often returning in greater numbers.

Rockwood was now in his rant, talking about things and turning to face the blackboard, writing like his life depended on it.

'This was going to be a long day' Sam thought to herself as she continued to take notes.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next class went faster because there wasn't any slander against mythical creatures. It was a lot more relaxed and something that at least had some relevance to high school exams and things that you would need to know.

Jake was watching her again and Sam was just avoiding his stare again, feeling it like daggers in the back of her neck. It was starting to get on her nerves, it was all his fault after all. Why he had to do what he did and confuse the just mended situation.

She was avoiding him and she knew that she was just being childish, that she had to be the more adult and take control, but why did it have to be her that did it?

When the class ended, Sam walked out and dropped her things in her locker and shut it, feeling Jake again staring at her. He hadn't said a word to her all day and now he was just freaking her out with the staring.

When she had enough, she went in a different direction to the cafeteria. Not wanting this to be a public confrontation, which it could very well become.

She knew that he was following her and this was what she wanted to happen. It had to be out now or it would only get worse.

When she knew that they were alone in the corridor, she turned to face him. It was now or never.

"Are we going to talk about this or are you just going to keep staring at me?" Sam asked him, shoving her things to the floor, ready for anything.

"Sam, I'm sorry." He tried to get closer to her but she kept the distance between them, it was the only thing keeping her from running away, right here, right now.

"What are you sorry for? Making me confused about what you did? I don't even know what to say to you right now." Sam said to him leaning against the wall. She had no control over what Jake did or what he didn't do.

"I was just saying thank you for trying to help me with all of the Rose stuff. I just don't like the idea of you feeling like this and to know that it was my fault this time as well, just makes me feel worse." Jake was looking as confused as she was about the words that he had just said.

"Whatever you're going through, I just want to help you but I don't even know what I am supposed to be feeling for you. You drive me crazy half the time and then the other half its like you want to protect me from something that I am not familiar with, but you can't protect me from everything. That is all I know." Sam told him, honestly. She was glad for him in a lot of ways, it gave her some focus.

"I'm not Rose, Jake and you need to stop thinking that I can just understand what you do and what you say. I am like you and I understand everything that you go through as a dragon but as a teenager I have no idea." She continued still leaning against the wall.

Her words 'I'm not Rose.' again hit him and he moved toward her to hug her and let her know that he was sorry for what he had done.


	19. Chapter 19

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon

Chapter 19

Sam and Jake had parted ways for the rest of the day. They had talked a lot and were now back on the path of being friends again. Both were now aware of the flaws that the situation had made more evident in them. They were powerful creatures but still they were teenagers underneath and that was affecting them more deeply than anything else.

Hormones and all that, it was pretty much the usual scenario that all boys and girls had to go through at this age. But that didn't mean that it was self explanatory because it wasn't all those feelings and emotions that you couldn't quite place and the way they made you feel like you were going to go mad at times and then others when you wanted to cry and curl up in a ball and just want it all to away.

In this case it was getting better but still there was so much going through Sam's mind. What would happen next, was the main one. What would be the next thing to come along and make the whole thing come up and again and go all messy again?

Sam was now walking home, feeling the need to be alone right now with her thoughts and organise them to make sense out of them. What use was being this powerful creature if she didn't even really know her own mind and various thoughts?

She pulled out her key to her front door and opened it. She closed the door behind her and shoved her bag to the floor. There was not much that she could at home right now but there was homework that needed doing. Another day another ton of homework from teachers that needed to be completed by the following day.

So she started to do her homework and put her thoughts back on her schoolwork rather than her own problems and it was a thankful reprieve for her after the school day.

She wanted things to be a little less like it had been recently and more like how it used to be, with her having a separate home and work life. But more some reason the lines separating the two were becoming more and more distorted and blurry.

'Oh all this thinking was enough to give a brain a major headache.' Sam thought as she held her head and in the end went in search of tylenol for it. It was like someone poking you in the back of the head over and over again, not hard but hard enough to be noticed.

When she did go back to her homework the words were all blurry and dots were appearing around the outskirts of her vision. She put the homework back in her bag, deciding to complete it in the morning.

Sam went to her room and closed the door behind her. She then sat down on her bed and went to sleep, the light from the outside just setting, even though it was early the days events had taken their toll on her and she wanted to sleep now and think about it all tomorrow.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next day was Saturday, no school and more of a chance for her to get together with the others and come up with a plan on what to do about the HuntsClan. They could gather more information from the bazaar or at the platform that Sam had found a few days ago. Anything that could help them.

She had something to eat, got showered and dressed and left her home. Her dad was out asleep as he had been out all last night so he wouldn't miss her not being there and making a racket for the next few hours and she had things to do that were as important as what he did. But he knew that and was supportive, which she deeply appreciated.

As she walked through the streets to the Electronics Shop, she thought about how things would be if she wasn't a dragon or had to protect the magical world from evil. But as she did she realised that if she could do nothing then did do would be not enough for her to sleep well at night. Knowing there was suffering and she couldn't do anything was worse than having the power and doing nothing.

It was a lot that all magical guardians had to deal with but there were only a certain amount of them in the world and they all that weight of responsibility bestowed upon them. A degree of protection that they needed to provide for all innocent magical creatures.

It was never the path she chose but she could not escape the destiny that she had been born with, the legacy that her mother had laid out for her. Just like Jake's family had done. It was the way of the world and she wanted it this way. Her mother would hopefully be proud of her, of her attempts to follow in the footsteps of what her mother was and had stood for.

She walked into the Electronics Shop, she said hello to Jake's Grandfather and Foo Dog. Jake was not yet there so she took a seat on the sofa. It was still early so she just relaxed back into the sofa, trying to find a niche that was comfortable for her. Eventually she found one and just sat back, attempting to relax for a while.

It was a few minutes before Jake turned up, no Trixie or Spud with him for once. It was strange to see him without them. They were a trio and it was wrong not to see them together.

"Hey" Sam said to him, smiling slightly, glad to see he had turned up at last.

"Hey." He replied and sat down on the sofa next to her. There was still some stuff in the air between them, but there more important things to deal with right now.

"So how about we get on with this brainstorming session?" Jake asked her, trying to make light of the situation. It was not a normal situation and did merit this kind of seriousness.

Sam didn't want to get out of her comfortable position but she did and knew that he was right about this and they had work to do and right now was the best time to start on making this mess go away.

"Ok, lets start with what we know." Sam replied, getting back into work mode.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was a couple of hours later when they decided that they couldn't write anything else down, they felt they had to now track down some leads as to what the HuntsClan wanted aside from bringing back their leader.

Sam and Jake felt it would be useful to split up and take different ends of the magical bazaar and browse around for anything new that they didn't know about the HuntsClan's plan. It might take a while but they had to exhaust every option they had to try and get to the bottom of this mess.

They spent the next few hours doing this and not much information was found out about what was going on with the HuntsClan. Most magical folk wouldn't know anyway because of the fact that most of them were good and didn't go near this kind of thing.

So what they needed to do was to track down the not so good magical creatures and find out what they knew and that would be a task within itself.

It was getting late so they just had enough time to have a quick look around before getting home. They met up again and started to look for the not so good magical creatures. But there was no sign of them this night and they'd have to keep coming back in order to find them at some point.

Sam and Jake both agreed to call it a night and try again at first light. They had to do this and couldn't stop or let up even for one moment. They had to stop this before it got too late to even try that.

Just as they were about to leave, there were shots from below them. They both came down to the ground quickly to attempt to stop the shots. They were green energy blasts. The kind that came from the HuntsClan's staffs.

"Come on, Sam lets go!" Jake said to her and they both got into attack positions. The HuntsClan appeared right in front of them.

"Dragons, its time we ended this once and for all." One of the Higher Ranking members said to them, holding his staff firmly in his hands, ready to attack at a moments notice. They were on edge now and that meant that they could become unpredictable rather fast.

"Ok, lets finish this right here, right now!" Jake replied, letting his anger get the better of him, therefore causing him to throw his better judgement out of the window.

"Jake, no!" Sam cautioned but it was too late they were already now in the throes of a battle that wouldn't be easy for them to complete.

There were so many of them and only two dragons. Sam never felt so uncomfortable in a battle and she was stretched pretty thin, attacking where she could, causing several of the HuntsClan to retreat before she got grounded by a stray shot from a staff. She managed to keep fighting though, knowingt that giving up in this situation was not an option.

Jake was now circling with the Higher Ranking HuntsClan member, he looked tired as did his opponent but neither was willing to give up.

Jake fired and then so did his opponent both dodging each others attacks and keep doing the same. Jake forced himself to calm down and think rationally instead of allowing his anger to control him. He then thought about it, this was a battle he would not walk away, not at this time would he win. He had to think about Sam's safety first, she relied on him to do what was right, not what was necessary.

He fired again but not at his opponent, at something that when lit would cause smoke and even the HuntsClan couldn't see through smoke.

The smoke started and Jake grabbed Sam's arm again pulling them around his neck he took off, feeling a little better that they had both wounded the HuntsClan's numbers for a while. So they had more of a chance next time to better the purple clad magical creature haters.

"You did the right thing, Jake." Sam told him, changing back into her human form and clinging to him so she wouldn't fall again.

Jake knew that she was right but still felt empty after just running away, it was never easy for him to walk away from a fight with the HuntsClan after everything that happened. He hated them more than anything but with someone else to rely upon him, he couldn't lose control like that again. Which was why he needed Sam to remind him of that control. To keep him from losing it like that in future.

End of Chapter 19

A/N: I am seriously sorry for my lack of updates, I had writers block on how to continue with this story for the longest time. So I hope this chapter does it justice.


	20. Chapter 20

Another Dragon

Chapter 20

Sam was still holding onto Jake's neck as he flew them both away from the Magical Bazaar. Sam couldn't believe that she had gotten injured again by the HuntsClan, they sure did like to render an opponent as defenseless before destroying them.

He was again trying not to go back there and finish this once and for all, but they had to let it go until they could figure out what the HuntsClan were up to. They had to give it a bit of time and patience so they could see what would happen next. If she wasn't there then he might go on a suicide mission and end up getting himself killed.

It wasn't as if they could just sit there and do nothing but at the same time there wasn't much more they could do about the HuntsClan tonight. When morning came there would be more ideas and more chances to find out some more things about the HuntsClan's plans.

"Jake can you drop me off at home, I need to sort this wound and out get some rest and we can try again in the morning?" Sam asked him, he seemed to nod in agreement with her.

She was dropped back at her home where she said goodbye to Jake and he left her there, nursing her arm. She was worried for him now because she knew how much it took for him to walk away. To walk away from someone who had taken something that you cared greatly for away from you was one of the hardest things in the world.

Sam knew this fact very well after what happened with Keir, him telling her to never look for him because she would then be in more danger was one of the hardest things she had ever had to deal with.

She unlocked the door to her home and walked inside, turning the light on. Her dad was asleep more likely than not. She saw his keys on the side and left hers there too. Both of them were night owls at certain times and could either be out at any place or in the house together but that wasn't a very common thing.

She made her way up the stairs to the bathroom cabinet and took out the medical bandages and supplies she'd need to patch up her arm. So she took off her jacket and started to put antiseptic on the burn, wincing at the slight pain, luckily for her the staff's beam had only caught her on the edge of her shoulder.

She wrapped some bandages around her shoulder and secured it with the medical tape. She then put away the supplies and left the bathroom, making her way to her room and getting ready to go to sleep for the night. She felt drained off all her enrgy after that fight. Why did the bad guys always have to come out and fight at the most inopportune times?

Sam got dressed ready to rest and turned off her light and had a fitful night of sleep, still thinking about Jake and how he'd deal with the HuntsClan and wondering herself if she'd have to stop him or not; only the new dawn would tell if that would be true or not.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/

The next morning, the alarm woke Sam up. So disorientated that she was, she knocked the alarm clock onto the floor, where it only got louder and louder. She rolled over to try and block out the source of the noise that she fell onto the floor. She winced as she hit her bad shoulder and begin to slowly pick herself off the floor. She scrubbed at her face. She hadn't slept that well because of all of the stuff in her head.

She decided that a shower would make her feel a little better and then having something to eat. Maybe clear her head a little and that what she needed.

She took off the bandage on her arm and then ducked into the shower. She felt herself wake up a lot more and got out a few minutes later. She put the dressing back on with some new tape and then got changed into some fresh clothes.

Then she went downstairs and got some food before deciding to leave for Jake's Home again, hoping that he was there so they could hopefully try this again. It was just one of those things that they had to keep trying otherwise things just wouldn't work out and they'd lose this battle.

Maybe Trixie and Spud would be there today, so there would be more people there to brainstorm ideas. It was worth a try because they needed all the help they could get in battling this enemy.

She managed to get to his house pretty quickly, well much quicker than before. She knocked on the door to see Hayley answer it once again. This time the little girl just let her into the house without shouting for her brother.

She just leant against the wall as she waited for Jake to come down. Seeing him walk down the stairs she smiled at him and he forced the same expression onto his face.

"You ready to go?" Sam asked him and he nodded. He shouted a goodbye to his parents and both of them walked out the door.

Jake was quiet as they walked to his Grandfather's shop. The silence wasn't any fun but Jake didn't seem to want to make conversation with her.

"Are Trixie and Spud joining us today or is just you and me again?" Sam asked Jake.

"Yeah, they're meeting us at the shop." Jake answered but then didn't say anything else. He wasn't in the mood to talk right now and Sam decided that she wouldn't push it but at the same time if he didn't vent then it would make things awkward between them once again.

It was a few more minutes before the silence ending up driving Sam crazy, but at least now they were at Jake's Grandfather's Shop. Trixie and Spud both came up and said hello to them. Trixie looked at Sam and then at Jake who wasn't his normal cheerful self.

They hadn't seen him since yesterday afternoon and he had been a little more upbeat than he was right now. They all settled down on the couch and on the floor.

Lao Shi came in with Foo Dog and they started coming up with ideas as well as Jake and Sam telling the four of them what happened last night, including the confrontation with several members of the HuntsClan.

All four were in silence whilst the two told the story. It was a rather interesting story and did tell them a few things: One, the HuntsClan were growing in number but were not as abundant in that as before. Two, they were a little more careful about when they would attack the dragons and other magical creatures. Three, they still had that hatred of Jake for destroying them before and the same could be said for Jake as well.

The six continued to talk about different ideas for the HuntsClan's return and how to stop it. Most of the ideas included infiltration of the HuntsClan but this time using Sam and Trixie but once again Jake would cut them down.

The other ideas were to follow any straggling members of the HuntsClan, being in their human forms would give them the advantage. Jake was not recognised by any member of this new wave of HuntsClan so that would also be of use to them.

It was one of the ideas that Jake didn't say no to. So it was at least a start. The other idea was to tag a few members of the HuntsClan so they could keep an eye on them through Spud's computer. Since he was a genius this would be a sinch for him.

They decided to break for lunch and headed toward a local cafe. The four decided to order take out and bring it back to the shop.

Sam and Jake had both agreed to go off in pairs with Trixie and Spud in case there was any trouble along the way. They had to cover all of their bases to be sure that nothing would go wrong and other people and magical creatures could get caught in the crossfire.

It was a start and it was all they could for the moment, until they knew more.


	21. Chapter 21

Another Dragon

Chapter 21

Sam felt like a spy, she was with Spud, follwing a member of the HuntsClan. It was weird, doing this as a human rather than a dragon. She was so used to being one and using that to help her do this kind of thing that it felt kind of uncomfortable when she was just being herself.

Spud was the one doing the watching at the moment with a pair of binoculars, she just watched the other way so they would not get caught by any other members of the HuntsClan. Both Trixie and Spud were excited to be a part of the plan, helping out their magically embued friends.

They acted like they hadn't done this for a while. They never told her why they were so happy for it. Lately though Jake had kind of put them at a bit of a distance from them and it made them worried for him. He was doing it to protect them most likely.

Now that Sam was in the picture, Trixie and Spud felt a little better because there was someone watching out for him. But there was also the added problem of the fact that Jake now felt that he had to protect her as well, he was wearing his hatred for the HuntsClan on his sleeve for the whole world to see.

It clouded all of his actions and made everyone concerned for him. Trixie and Spud had tried in vain to get him to talk about Rose and the last battle that they'd had with the HuntsClan and he never said a word.

With Sam in the picture and Jake treating her like she was a damsel in distress and feeling uncomfortable when Brad asked her out on a date. It felt disjointed to her because she had only known him a couple of months and he was reacting like this.

But now that they had managed to sort out all this 'rubbish' for lack of a better word, they seemed to be communicating that much better and it helped because they all needed their minds focused on the situation at hand.

The HuntsClan member had headed down to the beach, where Sam had spotted them a few days earlier. It was becoming more and more clear that this was not just a place where they hung out but their base of operations. The HuntsClan were careful but not yet at the level they had been before now. This gave them the advantage.

"Well now that we know about this we can report back. Come on, Sam." Spud announced and both agreed to this and headed back to the Shop.

Feeling that at least they had done something rather than just poring over books and maps and other things. It was a start and they had to keep going and not let up.

"Can I ask you something?" Spud said as they walked down the familiar streets of New York.

"Depends on what you want to know?" Sam retorted, interested in what kinds of answers he needed from her.

"Why are you and Jake always having problems? You're both ultra cool mythical creatures, but you just act like you don't see eye to eye on so much." Spud told her.

"We're just kind of road testing each other. We might not get along all the time but that is just the way we are built. Or whatever, we haven't known each other that long so there are bound to be a few pot holes in the road to us being on the same wavelength." Sam asnwered back, hoping that her answer would be enough for now.

Spud was a real genius but like a normal teenager saw things in a different way to other people. It was a useful quality in him and in Trixie as well, it gave them more of an understanding into this world compared to the normal.

"Like you and Trixie, you might not get along all the time and we all fight with our friends at one point or another but deep down we all want the same thing." Sam finished, he smiled at her.

"Ok." Spud answered back and they spent the rest of the journey in silence. He seemed a little better off with the answer than he had been.

They made it back to the Shop to find Trixie and Jake already there. Now both pairs had to say what information they had found that was relevant to the HuntsClan Threat.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

It was a while later when they had written down all of what they had found out today on their fact finding missions.

They had yet to come up with any other ideas on how to deal with the HuntsClan today. But after the last battle they had with the mythical creature haters it would take them a little while to get their numbers back up.

This would hopefully give them enough time to come up with a fool proof plan of action. But for now they had done well fo the day and had earnt the rest. Even with the oncoming threat they still needed to rest and recooperate.

Trixie and Spud went off in one direction, whilst Jake and Sam went off in the other. Neither really wanted to say anything, again came the awkward silence. It was now becoming a more than regular occurrence between the two of them.

How could she talk so plainly to Spud and not talk to Jake in the same way because he was the one that 'dragoned' out with her all the time? It was different talking to Spud, he was so free within himself and he said whatever he wanted all the time.

Jake might like to act that way at school, but the second it was over he became the person who acted like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, like he alone was the only one who could carry the burden.

He wasn't the only dragon in the world and sometimes he didn't realise that he wasn't the only dragon in this city. Why did he always put this much pressure on himself?

"So what was it like working with Spud?" Jake asked, now officially having had enough of awkward silences.

"It was different, but he's awesome and see things that we might not normally pick up on." Sam answered back. She was glad for the break in tension.

"Did anything interesting happen aside from finding out about the HuntsClan?" Jake questionned, he looked at her like he was fishing for information.

"He asked me why we were having problems agreeing with each other." Sam returned, still walking down the street.

"What did you say?" Jake looked concerned about what her answer had been.

"I told him that were bound to be having a few disagreements because of the fact that we barely know enough about each other to function as a unit just yet." Sam saw the concern and hoped that her answer abated that.

"Maybe if you talked to them then they would understand a little more about this." Sam told him.

"I know but I don't want them to think that I can't handle this." Jake said to her.

"But I don't get why you always feel that you have to be on your own, you're never alone. It's not a game, Jake." Sam retorted. Again came another problem.

"But sometimes I am alone and I have to be and I have to be strong enough to deal with that, you have to let me." He answered her, just wanting it to sound strong enough so that she would leave it alone.

"I won't let you deal with this kind of thing alone, we're partners in this and we need to be strong together." Sam stopped walking suddenly. They were in the middle of the street and this was not a good place to be having this conversation.

"Come on, we need to settle this before it gets worse." Sam grabbed Jake's arm and proceeded to drag him to her house.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

They arrived at her house a few minutes later. Jake was not looking forward to having this out with her. They just kept having problems and once they cleared one another would come along.

"What is it you want me to say to you?" Sam asked him.

"I just want you to understand that sometimes there are things that you can't help me with, things that no one can. I just need to deal with them on my own." Jake told her.

"What if something happens to you? What if no one is there to back you up and you get seriously hurt or you die? I don't want that to happen to you." Sam told him. She was looking like she wanted to cry because it wasn't exactly a light subject that they'd ventured into.

Jake started to pace around the room, just a little, considering his next words carefully. Sam was afraid for him, not of him and that warmed him just a bit. She wasn't clingy or possessive, but she couldn't hold his hand all the time and watch him like some kind of glorified babysitter.

"I am not going to go down like that, I have you to help me but at the same time you're not going to be there every moment. Please understand that." Jake answered back.

"I know that, you just need to tell me to back off or something. If you don't want to deal with this then it's fine. You need to tell me when you want me to leave it alone." Sam told him. Like drawing a line in the sand or something.

He looked at her in a different light. He knew what she was capable of as a dragon and that she was a match for him because she had been doing this the same amount of time that he had. But as a human being, he didn't know what limits she could be pushed to.

She did have some patience but that was a given. It wasn't as though she broke down that much and when it came to her friends she was protective. Her history was clouded and he needed to find out more about her.

He knew that it would take time to learn more about each other but he was willing to try now because she was trying for him, it was only fair to do the same back.


	22. Chapter 22

Another Dragon

Chapter 22

Sam and Jake were standing there, staring at each other. Neither was willing to let the other see the emotion that was plaguing them so horribly. This whole situation just became worse every time they let their own feelings take control of them.

Both were too stubborn to let this lie for now, it had to be dealt with whilst the proverbial iron was hot. Both were afraid that if the wrong thing was said then the damage would become too much for their friendship.

It was no longer easy for them to hide what they wanted to because of all of this. These kinds of things were just something she wasn't used to dealing with. It made them both doubt the others' ability to handle this kind of thing, it might in the end cause them to misunderstand each other in an extremely dangerous situation.

They had to learn these things and rather at a hurried pace, because after all time was not in their favour. Time was something that both of them needed but didn't have, if they did this would all be so much easier to deal with.

The things that they did and had done together would seem so much more of an achievement if they only knew how to figure each other out. There was something else going on with them aside from finding faults with one another.

"I think that we have talked enough for tonight, I have to get back, my mom and dad will be worried." Jake told her. He was struggling with the tension between the two of them. It was making him feel shaky and nervous.

"No. Not yet, this had to end right now." Sam shook her head, she needed some space from him right now as well but they had to have this out.

"I can't do this right now, please just leave it alone." He looked like he was about to just give up so Sam just nodded and let him leave, knowing that she would start again with this in the morning.

He left in a hurry and she just leant heavily on the wall, hearing the door close behind him. This was becoming a recurring situation between them and she didn't know how either of them found the strength to keep dealing with things like this.

She headed to her room, trying to figure out a way to get him to open up more.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The next morning Sam woke up with renewed vigour, she headed to the bathroom and showered quickly. She dressed and brushed her hair and was out the door before her dad could say good morning to her.

She was afraid that things wouldn't have improved with a nights sleep and he was still in the same mood he had been in the previous night. She headed to his home to hope her fears would be wrong.

She arrived at Jake's a little while later, her head was still buzzing from the previous night. She knocked on the door to find Jake's mother answering it.

"Oh hello Sam." She cheerfully spoke to Sam. She seemed a little on edge though.

"Hi Mrs Long." Sam answered back as she entered the house behind the older woman.

"Can I talk to you for a second?" Susan asked Sam as they motioned for her to go to the kitchen, Jake's father had taken Hayley out for the day and it was just them and Jake, if he ever decided to surface.

"What is it?" Sam questionned of Jake's mother.

"What is going on between you and Jake?" Susan demanded to know. She must have seen him last night and Jake had just shrugged off her asking him what was wrong.

"Jake and I are having some problems and we're trying to deal with them, but it isn't that easy." Sam replied, it was honest and that was all she could be to Jake's mom.

"What kind of problems?" Susan really looked desperate to know.

"It is better if he tells you, I don't want to intrude. When I know that everything is alright then maybe I can tell you but not before, it isn't my place or right to say so." Sam offered, knowing that it wouldn't sit well.

"Ok, please just try and resolve your issues soon. I want my son back to his cheerful self." Susan begged and put a smile on her face once again.

Jake walked down the stairs, dressed in his normal clothes and jumped when he saw Sam sitting in his kitchen talking to his mom. He almost smiled at his because it seemed so normal for a change for it to be this relaxed, to see Sam relax after all the things they had been through lately.

"Morning mom." Jake said, causing the two to jump a little and look back at him. They seemed to be getting along rather well considering they had only seen each other in passing.

"Morning Jake." Susan answered back and headed out of the kitchen to give the two teenagers a chance to talk things over. Hopefully after some words were said things would be better between the two of them.

"I guess you want to continue our chat from last night?" Jake cautioiusly put across to Sam who was just watching him. She had let the smile disappear from her face. She knew that this was going to come up.

"I think we should just spend some time getting to know one another like friends should and maybe then we can come to a mutual understanding about this whole mess." Sam offered to him as an olive branch of sorts. There was only so much talking that either one could do. Or stomach.

Jake looked surprised at her answer, thinking that she was the kind of girl that needed to talk about feelings and things like that. She just changed on him yet again. So much for him thinking that she was easy to figure out.

"What is it?" Sam asked him, he looked confused now and he just closed his eyes for a moment as if to gather his thoughts together.

"You keep changing on me, one minute you want to talk and the next it is almost like you have had enough conversation and want to avoid it completely." Jake questionned of Sam.

"Do you want to talk now?" Sam asked him. "Just be straight with me that is all I am saying."

Jake was considering his words again, all he knew at this moment was neither one of them could keep on going round in circles with each other and it would eventually end in tears for both of them.

"Ok, I can do that." Jake answered back, he saw her smile at that.

Both decided it would be a good time to head out for the day as agreed, they still had a lot to work on but they had made a start and that was all mattered.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Sam and Jake decided on heading to the Magic Bazaar to find some more leads, this time together. Trixie and Spud were off following other leads this time, like keeping a safe distance but watching the abandoned oil platform with Foo Dog. They would be safe but doing their part to help as well.

They took the train just like before and were in the Magic Bazaar before too long. There was a buzz in the air and everyone was happy for a change, there was no sign of trouble yet but it was still early and there was the possibility for mischief.

Sam looked at various stalls and asked a few questions along the way as she look around. She was having a good time but they weren't having any luck finding out any new information. This was becoming a little pointless and Jake looked bored like he wanted something to happen.

But he knew better than to wish for bad things to happen in a place like this especially with magical creatures who didn't deserve to be put through that.

"Come on, lets go and look somewhere else." Jake said to Sam and headed away from the Magic Bazaar and Sam followed behind him.

It became clear that they wouldn't find what they were looking for there today. So they kept moving hopefully something would come up soon.


	23. Chapter 23

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon

Chapter 23

Both Sam and Jake were both in their own individual worlds, thinking about what to say to one another. They were currently on the chase for any leads of the HuntsClan and so far nothing had jumped out at them, it was becoming frustrating but at the same time both were glad for the reprieve from the dangerous situations.

Neither knew what to say to break the silence as once again it became awkward and uncomfortable. They had a lot of issues to deal with but at the moment they had only become evident one at a time, at this rate they would have even more to handle after they resolved this new one.

Sam was hoping for at least a little bit more time to get to know Jake and get over whatever baggage both had with them. They were a team, a unit when they had to be and they were pretty much a force to be reckoned with when they were facing off against evil forces but as two teenagers they were unsure about so much, both having experienced a certain degree of pain: Sam, when she lost her friend to the darkness and not having seen him since. Jake, when he lost Rose and had her lose her memories of him, having that burden of remembering her when she couldn't remember him.

They both were not disillusioned about how much good they did and neither got a hero complex out of it because they were only a small part of something much bigger than they themselves were.

It was times like this that their strengths and weaknesses were on full display to each other to see. Times like this when the pressure was on for them as mythical creatures to up their game and do what they could to stop the new oncoming threat.

"We've been looking for a while and found nothing. Maybe this is a dead end and we should go and help Trixie and Spud." Jake offered, finally breaking the silence.

Sam looked around one final time and then agreed to what Jake had said.

Just as they were about to leave, a green beam appeared and Jake and Sam pushed away from each other to either side of the tunnel they were in. Both looked at each other for a split second as if to check the other was ok before looking in the direction of the beam.

Both transformed to be safe, hearing the footsteps coming from the direction of the beam. Both were ready for any ensuing fight that could be coming their way.

Out of several directions came the HuntsClan members, they had managed to bring their numbers and plan this assault, hoping to catch the dragons once again.

Sam and Jake were both diving and flying out the way of green beams, they had a few close calls and aimed their fire at the men on the ground. They may have had numbers on their side but both Jake and Sam could fly and avoid their shots.

A lot of the men avoided the fire and regrouped like a team, like they had actually learnt their lessons from the last time they had confronted the dragons.

Sam was hit on her side and hit the tunnel wall and was stunned enough for the HuntsClan to take advantage but she swept her tail round and sent some of them flying.

Another of the green beams hit her leg but she got up and flew back up to where Jake was and together they managed to get rid of the HuntsClan members in different directions back into the darkness.

When they were sure the enemy was gone, Sam went back into her human form and leant heavily on the wall. Her leg was burned a little, but her side hurt more. Jake looked concerned, he picked her up in his arms and took off flying through the tunnel fast.

He had this weird look on his face, as if this was the first time that Sam had gotten hurt. She had gotten hurt before but this time Jake had no scratches on him. He was used to dealing with the HuntsClan and she wasn't. He would need to make sure that she could deal with them next time because he couldn't fathom that this was more dangerous for her.

As soon as they got back to the Magic Bazaar. Jake landed and transformed back into his human form and put Sam's arm around his neck to continue to support her. Both headed towards the lift and once the doors closed Sam leant back against the side of it.

"How many lucky hits are those guys going to land on me?" Sam tried to joke about this but it fell on deaf ears with Jake who now looked like he wanted hit a wall or something.

"This isn't something you can just joke about!" Jake almost shouted at her, as if he didn't know who to be more hacked off at: Her for being injured or the HuntsClan for injuring her, or himself for thinking that nothing would happen today. That they might not find anything and not be on the receiving end of an ambush.

Sam was in shock at the fact that he had just yelled at her like that. It was so unlike him to be that aggressive except for when the situation called for it. She was confused by this change in him. He had been so concerned about her well being and the switch had evidently flipped for him.

Everything she thought she knew about Jake went out of the window for a moment and it made her nervous, that he could become a stranger to her so fast. His eyes betrayed him though, he was scared that things could have been so much worse.

"I know that!" Sam fought back, trying to bring back Jake. She hadn't thought about the words she had spoken before she had said them and now regretted them deeply.

"Why can't you be more careful!" He answered back to her.

"I am not used to dealing with these guys. Come on Jake, give me a break." Sam retorted and was hurt enough and didn't need his anger as well, it could become worse and they might end up hating each other if they didn't stop this.

Sam was becoming angry too and she couldn't hadle this feeling, because it hurt more than the pain of her wounds. Jake and she needed each other as allies, confidants, friends and all the rest of the terms. They were a team and this was the furthest thing from being that they could get to.

"You keep getting hurt, Sam! I need you not to get hurt, you have to not allow them to get the better of you." Jake all but shrieked at her. He was beyond anything Sam had ever seen in him before now. It was like he was feeling the emotional pain of Sam's physical wounds, she couldn't see how serious this was, that she could get herself killed.

Sam wanted to scream at him to just stop, that she was still alive, a little worse for wear but still alive. Maybe it was deep down because the HuntsClan had 'killed' someone Jake had loved. He didn't want them to kill her too.

But the person that had been 'killed' was alive and happy in her new life. It would be different with Sam to Jake because although he didn't know her as well as he had known Rose, they were more of a team because they were the same kind of person. On the same side, the same creature, the same path.

They needed each other and if something were to happen, then it might drive them to recklessness and that never ended well. He just wanted her to be safe, but he couldn't protect her from things like this.

"I'm here and kicking, Jake. I don't want to keep getting hurt but if that is what happens, then it happens. Just get used to it. Better me than other creatures or innocent people." Sam told Jake, she was still leaning on the side of the lift.

"I know that." Jake was calming down, but still seething about her apparent carelessness for her own life.

"But you need to look after yourself you are as important as other magical creatures and the people we save, Sam." He continued. He was afraid of the way she thought that her life was less of an importance to herself than others.

"I don't care what happens to me because if I save others like me then it makes it worthwhile, Jake and deep down you probably feel the same way yourself." Sam answered, honestly she knew the truth.

"I care about you and I don't want you to ever say that to me again, do you understand." Jake added to her as he closed the space between them. He was no longer angry, more determined to say the least.

Sam looked up at him as he pulled her into his arms. She was in shock at the sudden display of affection but welcomed it. She leaned into him for strength and at the moment he was far stronger than her.

It was like when she had lowered her own defenses to tell him what she had just told him, he became more resillient to her and wanted to protect her and for that she was grateful beyond all reason.

They had just overcome another obstacle and their own flaws were exposed to the other, more so than before. They had gotten closer because of things like this. They had crossed another hurdle, whoever knew what would be next.


	24. Chapter 24

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon

Chapter 23

Jake and Sam broke apart, afraid of what had just happened. They had crossed certain boundaries over the last few times they'd argued. All in all it had brought them closer together, they were friends but if felt like there was something else just below the surface and it was clawing and fighting its' way out and threatening to emerge and spill out between them.

"Thank you, I don't know what came over me." Jake backed away, leaving a little space between the two of them. As if to ensure that they had something firmly in place to stop them from doing this again. It was almost as if he was afraid of what might happen next.

"Yeah, me too." Sam said, kind of putting on a front as if to save a little face. She didn't know what was happening with them and it made her a little bit nervous.

The lift ride ended and they were back to normality, whatever that meant. Both were unsure of how to deal with what had happened and the easiest thing to do would be to just ignore and put it away and forget about it.

It was awkward as they left the lift and headed up the stairs towards the train once again. Both sat in silence because they were afraid that if either said the wrong thing then they'd be back where they had been before now.

The silence was welcomed right now because of all of this but there was more to come for them, Sam thought. They had only known each other a couple of months but there were years of knowledge to tap into yet. It was part of the fun of friendship: to find out things about each other and to see if you gelled or not.

But there was this line that Sam was afraid they were getting closer to crossing, the line between being friends and going beyond that.

She was afraid of this because ever since he had first saved her life this kind of emotion was attached to them both. He was afraid for her safety, she was afraid of what might happen to him if something did happen to her.

She needed him to be strong because if he was then she could feel the need to be just as strong herself but right now she didn't have the energy for it. For him. Because both had built this kind of dependence on each other. Most of the time she was sure it was because of what they were, but others she thought it was because of their age. Now it seemed like it was because of the fact that they were friends and had been in a lot of situations involving life and death and that brought out all kinds of feeling within them.

It was a reprieve to not talk about it but to think about it was actually making things worse. When she thought about it, maybe analyse it to the point where it gave her a headache. But to not think about it would be something she couldn't do because she cared about how he felt.

'So much for not going overboard.' Sam thought to herself. She glanced a look at Jake. Who had put his tape player on and was currently zoning out, probably for a chance to clear his own head.

She began to look out of the window and felt better knowing that she didn't have to face a conversation about this for at least a little while. She would have more control then and be able to handle things a bit better. More of a wall would be resurrected by the time they got off the train.

\/\/\/\/\/\/

15 minutes later...

They were off the train and Jake was still listening to his music as they were walking along the streets towards Jake's Grandfather's Shop. Aside from the attack earlier on by the HuntsClan there had been nothing else to go on.

There would be things that the HuntsClan would be after now that they were technically back in action and they were all about distracting the dragons in order to get what they wanted at another time. Getting their boss back or something would require some major magical mojo and the crystal skulls were destroyed and there was no way to fix them.

There were probably other ways for them to achieve their goal than the skulls. Ways which were probably a lot more dangerous than the skulls were. Sam didn't know anything about resurrection of evil anyway. Aside from the wish granting skulls that was all she knew.

"So what now?" Sam asked the others after regailing them all with the tale of their attack from the HuntsClan.

"Now we have to figure out how they are going to get their leader back." Jake's Grandfather answered back. He was worried because they didn't know anything more and there was any time that the HuntsClan could get ahead and then everything would be for nothing.

"Then we research and follow them around. At the moment it is all we can do." Jake replied. He was still not on the same wavelength that the others were on. His mind was on other things, things that he thought were more consuming of his thoughts.

He was thinking about how angry he had been with Sam for getting hurt. He had felt so protective of her that he wanted to shield her from things like this but because of what they were this was not possible and he resented that for the first time in a long time. Since he had become a dragon.

"Jake are you paying attention?" His Grandfather asked him. Jake was spacing out with his thoughts.

"Sorry what Gramps?" Jake answered as he came out of his trance.

"Jake, you need to be focused on the seriousness of this situation!" His Grandfather answered, annoyed with his grandson.

"Sorry Gramps. Won't happen again." Jake breathed out. He needed to focus on the issue at hand. His Gramps would stick him with some chores if he didn't focus.

They went on to talk about that they would do now. All they could do was keeping doing what they were doing because there was no other option aside from that. All the knowledge that they had wasn't enough and the HuntsClan's attacks were not really giving them what they needed, accept from a headache. Sam knew that Jakes' mind was on other things right now and that all they needed was to stop this and start again tomorrow with a fresh head and new ideas. They had all dealt with enough complicated events lately and needed a well earned break and the emotional baggage that had been brought into the equation might in the end get rid of itself . Sam ended up leaving the shop a little while later saying that she was tired and wanted to go home. Jake had gone off in the opposite direction to his house under the same pretence and didn't want to go into what had happened earlier on in the day. Things had been said that couldn't be taken back and how she wanted to . How she wanted this to be plain sailing between the two of them, how she wanted things to be the way they were when the two of them had started working together. When things were behind closed doors , when neither felt inadequate about what the other did and they did what was necessary to make the magical world safer. Now they were forever explaining to the other why they were feeling the way they were. She needed him, that much she knew. But to really need him to not only be her friend but to also be there for her as her team mate. They weren't attached at the hip, but sometimes she felt that they were because of the arguing when one did something that the other disagreed with. It just felt strained right now and that wasn't what she wanted and certainly wasn't what she needed. The calm before the storm as it were, if something horrible was going to happen then the mess they were in right now would surely be the end of them. Sam made her way up the steps to her house and unlocked the door , walking in and closing it behind her. She sighed in relief , feeling a little better now that she was away from all of the emotional distraction. She could now clear her head and focus on something that she actually missed, homework. Even the kind of homework set by Rotwood would be a welcoming reprieve from the thoughts of the day. She got out her things out of her school bag and began to complete the homework, as much as she disliked the fact that Rotwood was so wrong about Mythical Creatures that it made her angry but right now it was just what she needed to get her head away from dragon mode. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ Sam finished her homework and headed up stairs to her room , closing the door and changing into her night clothes. She had felt a little more calmer than she had before, the homework doing its job and allowing her some peace of mind. She now wanted to rest and then she could think more on the current situation in the morning. But right now she was clear on one thing, she needed Jake and knew that he needed her and that was the clear truth. But it was whether or not that they not fight each other for long enough to deal with the very real threat of the HuntsClan. To fight them or each other that was the problem. A/N: Sorry about the state of the last page of this chapter. The enter button on the computer is sticking so I had to use the shift button. Sorry for the late update of this chapter, hope it satisfies.


	25. Chapter 25

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not American Dragon. Sam is mine though.

Chapter 25

Sam woke up the next day feeling better and more certain of things than she had been the previous night. These issues were enough to drive her crazy, if she dwelled on them for too much time. They were so problematic that they gave her a headache just thinking about them and that wasn't making things any easier.

Realizing that she had to get ready for school, she got out of her bed and headed for the shower. Stepping underneath the hot spray, her troubled thoughts went away as if they washed down the drain, temporarily. Wishing that things could be that easy was not going to solve them any quicker.

Jake and her were just starting out and it was only natural that were going to be things that they didn't agree on and would fight about. But if they confronted the issues that they were having any other way then one or both of them might be inclined to fly away. She cared for him and didn't want this kind of anxiety defining their relationship. At the moment that seemed to be all it spiralled down to.

She turned off the shower and got out and then dried herself off and got dressed. She still had to wear long sleeved clothing because of her arm and now her side as well. Jake would still most likely beat himself up if he saw her battle wounds. She headed downstairs to get something to eat.

She grabbed herself some cereal and sat down. She then readied herself for the day ahead. Grabbing her bag, she headed out the door and over to Jake's house. She shut the door to her house and began the trek. She was nervous about seeing him again, especially after the emotional foray that they had undertaken yesterday, it left them both drained.

Sam eventually made it to Jake's house and knocked on the door and Hayley once again answered it. She smiled at Sam and shouted up to her brother.

"JAKE! SAM'S HERE!" She then walked back into the kitchen. The door was still open with Sam standing there.

She honestly didn't know where the little girl got the energy from to shout like that. Still she had to be just over half Jake's age. Sam walked through the door into the hallway and waited for Jake to come down so they could leave.

Sam felt impatient waiting for him today but that was because of the long day that they had had yesterday. It was just because of everything that had happened recently and she wanted to just get to school so they would be immersed in a different kind of environment.

Jake came down the stairs a few minutes later and smiled a little at Sam who smiled back. He shouted goodbye to his mom and his sister and both left the house. Shutting the door behind them, Jake walked down the steps with Sam.

Both were silent for a while once again immersed in their own worlds with their own thoughts and feelings. It was becoming the norm much like other things that had started with them. Neither were willing to say a word or to start the conversation that would stop the silence. Words weren't needed and in some ways they were because how else were things going to be sorted out between them?

They were at the school before either could utter a word because of that nothing changed between them. If they didn't do something then this would end up defining their relationship: Where nothing had been done when it could have been.

She was afraid of losing him because of all that they had been through. He was afraid that she felt that her life was not worthy above saving everyone else. Maybe something had happened along the way to make her feel like that.

How she needed him and how he needed her was different. Definitions of being friends were starting to lose their grips as they began to confide more in each other than before. It was because of that fact that they were in the fast track stages of becoming more deeply involved with each other.

"Sam, come on we have to go otherwise Rotwood will give us detention." Jake finally spoke. He pulled on her shoulder and both quickened their pace and headed into Rotwood's classroom a few seconds before the bell went off, signalling the start of the day.

"Good morning class, I hope that you have completed your assignment from before the weekend. I expect you all to have gotten it correctly." The professor spoke to the class. He was looking right at Jake when he said this.

Talk about persecution, the teacher didn't let up on anything because it was like he knew that Jake was a lot more than he seemed to be. But he could never put his finger on it and Jake did his best to act like there was nothing out of the ordinary about him.

Professor Rotwood turned away and started to write on the blackboard, the screech noise of the chalk broke through any silence that was in the room.

Jake looked bored as he usually did in Rotwood's class and he just wanted the class to be over even though it had only just began. It was what he didn't like about his school day and he would have loved to go up there and teach Rotwood a thing or two.

The class went rather slowly and everyone looked like they wanted to fall asleep but none wanted to get a detention from the strict professor. But they dutifully copied the notes down from the teacher.

This was the start of a very long day.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The class ended and everyone mentally breathed a sigh of relief and headed toward the door like the room was on fire, not before Rotwood gave them another assignment to be completed for tomorrow.

After that Sam was separated from Jake and the others as they now had different classes to go to. Sam really wanted to talk to Jake, now feeling like she had the courage to do so without the fear of wanting to run away. But right now that was impossible and it made her want to scream out loud, but the feeling of the embarrassment that would be caused made her stop and think about it before she did something stupid.

She headed to her next class, feeling that nothing would ever get sorted between them. Sam put on the façade of paying attention and sat down in her chair and took out her notebook. She listened as best she could to the teacher who was at least not as hysterical as Rotwood but still rather less strict than he had been.

Sam resigned herself to the long day ahead, wanting nothing more than to just get out of here.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

It was now lunchtime and Sam made her way to the cafeteria and got into the line for something to eat. Jake was nowhere in sight and neither were Trixie or Spud. It was probably because they got held up in class or something like that.

She headed to a table after she had gotten her lunch, intending on saving some seats for the others. She saw Brad hovering around her just like he had that first day they met; she remembered how uncomfortable she had felt and how annoyed he made her.

But he seemed to keep his distance this time, aware of how she had made him look and the fact that she had told him that she wasn't interested in being his girl. Neither was she interested in being in his little group of friends, it was because of this that she didn't look at him, making it clear once and for all.

Jake and the others came through the doors of the cafeteria a few minutes later and immediately got something to eat. Trixie and Spud talked animatedly about things whilst both Jake and Sam responded every now and again. Both wouldn't look at the others and do the talking here because it wasn't exactly the right time or place.

"What is up with you two?" Trixie asked now getting a little annoyed at her friends' lack of interest in their conversation.

"What?" Sam asked, coming out of her stupor. She saw the look on Trixie's face and immediately felt guilty because she wasn't focused on her friends only on herself and Jake.

"Sorry Trixie." Jake responded, he looked like she did.

"Whatever is on your minds you need to get over it and focus on the here and now." Trixie spoke quietly and Spud nodded in agreement. Both were sick of the two of them acting like this and not confronting it.

"We have talked about it but there is just so much more to talk about." Sam answered back almost whispering it to them.

"What is it this time?" Trixie asked of them, because sometimes all they ever did was fight or have issues.

"It's nothing important." Sam answered back, watching to make sure that no one was listening in to their conversation.

"Oh, come on. It has to be important for you both to not even talk to each other. There has to be more to it than that." Spud now got involved with the discussion before it could get out of hand.

"We can't do this here." Jake then answered. He wanted them to stop and just leave it at that, the way they had both been confronting their own issues was working for them for the minute.

"What is this about?" Trixie asked again almost wanting them both to just come out with it.

"Just drop it, please." Sam almost begged. She wasn't going to discuss this here.

In the end, Jake and Sam were almost pulled out of the cafeteria by Trixie and Spud. Sam didn't understand what they were doing this for but it was obvious that the only way that it would ever get resolved was to lock them in a room for a while and see what happened.

They found an empty classroom and locked both Sam and Jake in there.

"You aren't getting out until you sort this out once and for all. The HuntsClan could be attacking the magical world at any time and you need to fight them and not each other." Trixie said and both left the two on their own.

Jake and Sam both sat on tables opposite each other and decided that Trixie and Spud were right and they needed to sort it out.

But how would they begin?


	26. Chapter 26

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. Wish I did though.

A/N: I am so sorry for the lack of updates, this is due to lack of computer. Bought myself a laptop with some of my wages. Be prepared for quicker updates, I promise.

Chapter 26

No words could be heard from either Jake or Sam because once again neither knew how to start this conversation, like they were reading a script with no new page after ending the final one. Sam opened her mouth to say something to break the tension, but she closed it again when she couldn't find the strength to do it.

'I wish this would just end.' Sam thought to herself. 'Sometimes I think it would be better if we had never met each other'

After she thought this, she closed her eyes as if to wince at her own stupidity, she would never regret meeting him. He was what she was and he was the other half of what she was technically. They were all they had when out on the battlefield. Both wanted to protect the other but that couldn't be at the cost of the magical creatures that they were supposed to protect.

That faith that they had in each other was what fuelled each other's strength. But there was that line of doubt that caused them to question each other's strengths. It caused the rift between them that needed to be filled with trust when all it was filled with now was questions.

What if they weren't strong enough? Together or apart? How could they guarantee that the other would be there to help?

"We really need to stop doing this. This ends right now and I mean now." Jake looked up at her and she saw the resolution in his eyes, it gave her chills.

She nodded in agreement with him and then moved from the desk that she was sitting on to his desk, so that they could at least be closer.

"Why do we keep doing this? You are my friend and I want to protect you but you are beginning to fall down a slippery slope and I don't want you to fall somewhere where I can't get to you." Jake honestly answered, he was showing what he really wanted to say and nothing was stopping that.

"I don't know what you would want me to say, I just want to be honest with you and that is all I will ever be is honest. I care about you and I care about the world that we protect. I can't help feeling the way I do." Sam looked at Jake and just wanted to rip the furniture out in her defensiveness because all of the words she had spoken were the painstaking truth and she would have repeat them to him over and over in order to get him to understand.

"I don't want you to feel like that because that isn't the way it should be. We rely on each other as more than just members of the same team but as friends because out there we are in real danger and that is the truth. I can't lose you." Jake admitted wearily, he was ashamed a little at admitting the last part of what he had said to her because it was different to the other times he had grown attached like that.

Sam's eyes widened and she swallowed a little, she knew what this was about and that he was simply confusing her with Rose once more. So she just took with a pinch of salt, knowing that this would be nothing would than one of those things that they said that would be pushed to the side.

"I think that you're confusing me with Rose again, Jake. I want to make myself be safe but there are just some things that we have to do and one is to forego our own safety when the time calls for it and that could be costly and make things worse for everyone." Sam answered back, moving off the desk and away from Jake, as if the space alone would afford her some clarity.

The pain was real enough but what was it between them now? Feeling like she was a replacement for Rose made her sad but also angry at the same time because there was this great girl that Jake had loved and Sam felt woefully inferior to this amazing person. It was enough a lot of the time to make her head spin.

"What is it with her Jake? Why do I feel so inadequate next to the great Rose?" Sam asked of him, showing her emotions on her face but also in the defensive way she was standing.

"What are you talking about?" Jake got up and stood in front of her, knowing this was now more or less the brunt of the problems.

"If I have made you feel like that then I am so sorry for it. I don't mean to, it's just that she was it for me and I loved her. She is everywhere I look and all the places that I go to." Jake turned away from Sam for a moment just to gain his own bearings back. His own strength back in place.

"I know what she meant to you and I know that it hurts that she is gone away from you. But she's free and happy and without memories of what happened to her. I know." Sam responds, putting her hand on his shoulder, attempting to give him some comfort, just like before. How things could be so complicated and yet so simple between them was mind numbing.

All the time, the thought of Rose and Jake needing her like he needed the air to breathe caused her to feel things that she shouldn't want to feel: Like jealousy that he loved someone that much and how it would cause so much pain and suffering when you were that far apart from them.

Or the doubt that was there when you found out that you weren't as high up on someone's priority list as you thought. It was that way for her sometimes, but she tried to quash it, but with all the responsibilities that she and Jake had it was never easy to do that.

Sam jogged herself out of her thoughts and back to Jake. She moved around him to make him face her and she smiled at him, trying to encourage him to do the same but it didn't work this time. So she hugged him, trying to convince him that together they would make things alright.

It just had to be.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Sam didn't know how long it was before they let each other go, it was intense and both needed it and again didn't need the complication. It was almost annoying. Jake looked straight into Sam's eyes and saw the same emotion there now: the feeling of being unsure as to what they would say next, as to what would happen between them next.

"I think we have done as much talking as can be done right now. We just need some time to think things through." She headed towards the door and knocked on it, knowing that Trixie and Spud were most likely outside waiting for them to start talking.

"Sam…." Jake uttered, trying to get her to look at him, knowing she was a little unnerved by their recent behaviour.

"Its okay, Jake. I am here for you if you need me to be." Sam spoke and then turned towards with a smile on her face, making him stronger like he needed to be.

Trixie opened the door.

"How did it go?" She asked and Sam walked out of the room without saying a word, both of them now needed the space.

The playing field was changing and neither would be prepared for the next curve ball that was thrown.

\/\/\/\/\/

A/N: I hope this satisfies my readers, things are now more evidently changing between these two.


	27. Chapter 27

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. Wish I did though.

A/N: I am so sorry for the lack of updates, this is due to lack of computer. Bought myself a laptop with some of my wages. Be prepared for quicker updates, I promise.

Chapter 27

Sam had decided that she needed some space for herself and headed away from Jake and the others. Things had been said that had exposed feelings that Sam wasn't ready for, she wanted to be there for Jake and be his friend but right now there was so much going on inside both their heads and it was screwing with the balance of their friendship.

She wanted so badly to be the person that could be there for her friends but sometimes she just wanted to be selfish and be on her own in order to deal with her own problems. Jake was still hooked up on the idea of Rose and how it made Sam feel like she paled in comparison to the love that he had lost.

What could she possibly do? She had never been in this kind of situation before and had no idea on what to do. Because of what they were and what age they were at things could never be more complicated than they were right at this very moment.

She leant up against the wall a few corridors over just feeling a little relieved that she had a bit of time to herself right now and she really needed it to get her thoughts in the order that she wanted.

She heard the bell for the end of the day and went to her locker to grab her bag and books. She made her way out of the school and into the street to her home.

As she headed down the street she kept looking behind her and saw no one following and breathed an unheard sigh of relief really needing the time to herself right now. She wanted to work out exactly what she wanted to do about Jake and the chance to work out what she would say for their inevitable next encounter.

Sam arrived at her home to find her father's things sitting in the hallway. He must have come home from his night shift and she closed the door silently and headed towards her room. She dumped her bag on the floor and just flopped on her bed.

How could things become so complicated? What she wanted from Jake was something she didn't know yet because of the fact they were still so new to each other. She knew that things could get messy between them but right now there were still many things that needed to be said before anything could be done.

Jake was amazing and what they both were was beyond understanding, how they fought evil and saved innocent creatures from a life of pain and suffering. They could be a great team when they weren't fighting each other which was all they seemed to do. All that doubt that they had about the other had practically dissipated, because of the fact that they were talking to each other and about their thoughts and feelings.

But there was still the idea of what he had lost. The fact that he had lost something made him that much more jaded to the world and all of its wonders. Because of his past he was less inclined to let people that close to him, except those who knew what he had been through.

She was racking her brain trying to figure out how to put across what she felt to Jake, they could talk about things but sometimes it never really got them anywhere. All those things that they had to deal with made their lives a little eventful to say the least.

She needed to be direct with him and possibly get Trixie and Spud to lock them in a room once again because that had caused some things to be resolved but she needed to be stronger and not run away at the first sign of trouble, she wanted to hurt herself at the evidence of her own cowardice.

Jake wanted to make her see that he wasn't seeing Rose when he looked at Sam, he only saw Sam. But obviously to Sam it was the complete opposite and she wanted more than anything to make herself stop feeling so stupidly insecure. She wanted to make him see her instead of what she thought that he wanted.

He wasn't saying or doing anything wrong but things very often didn't go the way they were planned. Sam wanted to just go back to before she ran away and talk to Jake more and understand what he wanted to say to her.

Her mind was split and she didn't want to be a coward. How she could be a badass dragon and kick evils ass and be completely and utterly afraid of the human counterpart of the other dragon that she fought evil with. Not of what he could do her physically but how he could mess with her emotions and tear down the well placed walls in her head and kept her from becoming an emotional wreck.

She got up from her bed, standing in her room and felt the urge to break some furniture with the frustration that she was feeling. Her feelings were nowhere near controllable and she wanted to have them under control but it was never going to be that easy.

She decided that she needed Rotwood's homework because it would be the only way to distract her mind from thinking about Jake and she had to use it for her advantage right now. She pulled it out of her bag and got down to it. She would read some incorrect obscure fact and it would make her laugh giving her the normality she needed right now.

Jake and thoughts of him went to the back of her head for a while and it felt good and gave her what she needed. She was almost sad to see that she had finished it, almost.

Rotwood's homework was a great distraction, even though the teacher knew nothing about mystical creatures. She shoved it back into her bag and then decided to go downstairs to get something to eat.

Making herself a snack, she sat down in her living room. She put the television and allowed mundane afternoon television to again take her mind away from where it really wanted to go right now, where she really wanted it to go.

When she was about an hour into watching some slow, she heard a knock at the door and quickly switched off the television and headed to the door as to knock wake up her father. She opened the door to find Trixie standing there.

"Why did you run away, Sam? Jake is as confused as you are about what went down in that classroom." Trixie asked of Sam crossing her arms as she entered the house and Sam closed the door behind the other girl.

"I couldn't deal with what had been said and I just choked. I'm sorry." Sam answered back, feeling a little weaker in herself because of everything that had gone through her head.

"How do you think that he feels, Sam? I know that it isn't easy but you need each other right now." Trixie attacked the girl.

"We are both suffering, Trixie, not just Jake. I don't know what I am supposed to feel about what is going on. Jake and I both need a little space right now because of everything that was said. We need that so please just drop it." Sam tried to get Trixie to get off the subject.

"What do you mean you are both suffering?" Trixie asked, she sat down on Sam's sofa, trying to convince Sam that she wasn't leaving for a while yet.

"I can't." Sam shook her head, begging with her eyes for the other girl to leave it.

"Sam" Trixie just said that one word, her name and it almost opened the floodgates.

"Trixie, I can't be sure of what I feel right now. I like him and I don't know how much I like him because of the fact that he is hung up on Rose and he might see me as her. He tells me he doesn't but I can't guarantee that it is the truth." Sam answered back.

"Sam if you like him then you need to tell him. He needs you tell him." Trixie replied and put her hands on Sam's shoulder.

Sam nodded and leant into the support of her friend.

"What if he can't get over her? What if I'm wrong and this ruins everything between us? What if we can't go back?" Sam asks.

Trixie took a breath. How could she answer that with a straight answer, she wracked her brain for a few moments and found that she couldn't do that.

"Some things are worth the risk, this could be one of them." Trixie honestly spoke and looked Sam in the eye and nodded her encouragement.

"I just hope that this is one of those times." Sam answered back, she was unsure if Trixie was right and if she could be brave enough to do what she needed to do. If only she had the courage to do it, but tomorrow was always a new day.

A/N: I hope this is not too OC of Trixie but I needed her to be serious and couldn't do that with Spud. Hope this is a worthy update.


	28. Chapter 28

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon. Wish I did though.

A/N: I am so sorry for the lack of updates, this is due to lack of computer. Bought myself a laptop with some of my wages. Be prepared for quicker updates, I promise.

Chapter 28

Sam was at a loss for words, she didn't know what her feelings for Jake were and how untidy they were in her head like toys scattered all across the room.

She needed to sort them out before she even had the nerve to face him. If she ever did and how she wanted to find the fight that she used whenever she was with him. To tell would be the thing to set her free from the shackles of doubt and confusion. All of those emotions were holding her fast and she wanted to be free of it. To tell would the hardest thing she had ever done, but she knew for a fact that she needed to do this.

Trixie noticed that Sam had kind of zoned out with her own thoughts and there was probably not much that would bring her out of it.

"I'll just go now, leave you alone with your thoughts." Trixie saw the girl nod in response.

Sam heard the door close, but stayed in the position that she was in. How could she be so blind? Why did it have to be this difficult?

Jake would probably always want Rose over Sam and Sam didn't know if she could handle that. Because she didn't want to share him if she decided to take that leap of faith.

She didn't understand her own emotions because of the fact that she didn't have time to psychoanalyse her won issues if she were in a life or death situation. It was as if each of her emotions was a different shape and she didn't recognise any of them.

The life she led sometimes made her want to cut off all links with anyone because it would hurt if you had to leave them or lost them. But it was like a big empty chasm in that it could never be filled and it kept growing, becoming ever bigger.

She was afraid of losing whatever she felt for Jake but at the same time she could lose it if she didn't tell him. She decided that maybe a good night's sleep would help with all of the confusion and headed up the stairs to her room, got dressed and went to sleep.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Sam had a restless night, everything was churning inside her, making her feel nauseous. She woke up to find that it was extremely early still. But she couldn't stay still for another moment; it was getting on her nerves that she couldn't function properly right now.

She needed to have a clear conscience, to be able to think and feel like a new person right now because of all of this. Jake was constantly in her thoughts and she could not be free of him at this point in time.

Sam got out of her bed and headed to the bathroom for a shower, maybe the hot water would help her a little bit. It was all she wanted.

Sam stepped into the scalding hot spray, allowing herself a momentary reprieve of her own thoughts and feelings and just let them wash away. She felt better after the shower was over.

She got herself dried off and changed into some fresh clothes ready for the day at school. She brushed her hair and picked up her school bag before heading down the stairs. The shower had done her the world of good, removing the tiredness a little and giving her a little bit of focus.

Making her way into the kitchen, Sam made herself some breakfast, then sat down and put the television on. She got immersed in the antics of some animated cartoon; it was either road runner or Speedy Gonzalez. Something like that.

It was funny how a mouse could run that fast and it was Spanish, pure gold.

This kept Sam entertained for a while, keeping her mind off other things. The time passed on a bit more and it was now approaching seven o' clock in the morning. Sam decided now would be a good time to make a move.

She washed up her bowl and left it on the side to dry in the sunshine. Then she headed out the door and towards the school, thinking about heading to Jake's on the way there. Not to talk about what they needed to say to each other, but just needing some familiarity in her day.

She was in her own head right now, thinking all about what she would say to him, about how she would act, what to do in the worst case scenario if he did not feel the same way that she did.

She was already preparing herself mentally for that to happen; she thought to herself that she was not in the same league that Rose was. She had to deal with this fact once and for all. All the doubts were coming from her and not from Jake; he had never once compared her with Rose.

Rose was not what she was, they were the polar opposites and it hurt to think that they could ever be similar. The only thing that Sam knew they had in common was how much they care about Jake. But what they were on the inside might have been the same, those feelings, and those emotions, being different to each other was the catalyst that had brought Jake and Rose together in the first place.

Realising this made her feel numb, placing even more doubt as to the strength of her feelings for Jake and the strength that she had inside herself if the worst were to happen.

She had to stop this, thinking all these negative things, she didn't know what would happen in the future, if she did then her life would have been that much simpler. She would know what she needed to do, what she needed to say and what she needed to think.

Things could go the way she wanted them to. There was a chance that this could work out the way she wanted it to. These thoughts put her in a more positive mood, sometimes she felt like the weather, with its ever changing moods. One moment it was sunny, then it would be pouring down with rain.

She then started to walk again, heading towards Jake's home. Deciding this would be a new day and that she would want to start afresh with everything that had gone on between them. Leave it all at the door as it were.

She was at the street where he lived now and was steeling herself for what she thought would be an awkward moment because of the way the last conversation they had ended. The way she had been a coward, in her own opinion.

She walked up the stairs to his home and knocked on the door, Hayley once again answered the door. She smiled that little sister smile, which meant that she was up to something.

"JAKE! YOUR FRIENDS HERE!" Hayley announced to the world, Sam wouldn't be surprised if the whole street heard the outburst.

"Be a little louder, Hayley I don't think they heard you in Chicago." Jake came down the stairs, thinking that Trixie or Spud had been the one whose presence Hayley was announcing.

He looked surprised to see Sam standing there and smiled a little anxiously. He was obviously as uncertain as she was but maybe he had the answers that Sam wanted.

The answers they both needed.


	29. Chapter 29

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon, it is the property of Disney.

A/N: I am beyond sorry for the lack of updates in over 6 months, I had a computer but it was crap and then the new one that I have did not have any word processing so I hope that you can forgive me the lack of updates and I hope that more frequent updates will make up for it.

Chapter 29

Sam was watching him, he closed the door of his house and they headed the normal route for school. Silence was once again all around them, neither was willing to begin the conversation which would no doubt both thought that would give way to awkwardness.

Sam was at a crossroads even more so than before, before she could deny anything and play the innocent but now she was on the verge of talking to him about her feelings and how he was involved. Whether or not she wanted to take that step with him was something that she had never really done in her life.

Keir was one thing, a friend who needed her and she needed him because aside from her dad, before she came here he was the only one she could totally be herself with. After he had disappeared, she yearned for that feeling of being free of pressure to keep up appearances and not let on what she was. But instead of it being a friend it was another dragon and one who knew what she was going through.

"So, aside from school what are we up to today?" Sam started the conversation but did not look at Jake, she kept watching the path up ahead.

"We still need to come up with a plan on how to stop the HuntsClan there is only so much recon we can do." Jake answered back, he was watching her as she nodded in agreement.

"But we still don't know what they want and how they will try and bring back their leader. So recon might be the only thing that we can do for the moment." Sam continued and then looked at him for the briefest of moments.

So once again they were talking business rather than personal it was easier for the moment but unfortunately the school walk was less than an hour and they might not even get into the conversation that they both desperately needed to have. Maybe they would have to start it and finish it later but at least it would be out there.

She remembered what Trixie had told her: That she needed to tell him that it had to be done. Sam knew she was right but at the same time the subject had to be approached carefully because there were things that couldn't be taken back.

He had said to her that he couldn't lose her and the truth was it was exactly the same with her for him. She never wanted to lose him, the reality was that they were constantly in these situations where it would be better to say how you felt thinking that the world was going to be over within a few moments so there was nothing left to regret, a world ending with no regrets.

But both of them stopped it from ending, which in turn stopped them from saying the truth of what they felt. So Sam needed to tell Jake now or she would have something to regret and she always told him that she was going to be honest with him and she wasn't going to start lying now.

"Ok, Jake we need to talk about this." Sam answered him, stopping the walk for a second. He turned to face her.

"Sam, it'll be okay, we will deal with the Hunts Clan and stop them. It's a sure thing." Jake replied and started heading back toward the school.

"That's not what I mean, Jake." Sam stopped him in his tracks and he turned to face her once again.

"Ok, what do you want to talk about." Jake asked and stood in front of her. Sam had a flash of doubt across her face and this concerned him as to what she wanted to talk to him about.

"How we are with each other, how intense things have been lately between us." Sam answered back to him.

"We've already talked about this so many times. What more is there to say about it." Jake moved closer to her as he saw struggle with the words.

"There is more believe me, so much more to say." Sam continued as she wanted to say it all before she lost the nerve that was at this very moment threatening to escape her.

"Then say it." Jake startled her with his bluntness.

"I don't know how to start, I wish I did." Sam leant up against the wall to find some strength from somewhere as if to help her.

"Well just start talking and then maybe you'll get there." Jake replied. He wanted to now what she was going to say and knew that it had to be really bothering her otherwise she would be able to wait until after school.

"All these times that we've fought about one thing or the other and how things have always come back to how we've had so many trials as friends already, it doesn't help with what we are." Sam started.

"Who we are and what we do doesn't allow much time to think about other things but saving the day. But for once I want to be honest about how I feel about other people. But if I say it and then it goes wrong I can't go back and fix it, there is no taking it back." Sam honestly spoke, she looked right into his eyes as she said this.

"I so want to tell you but I am afraid of the answers I will get back." Sam looked down, as if she were ashamed of admitting something which she hadn't done already.

"Sam..." Jake put his hand on her shoulder and she looked back up at him.

"Why can't this be easy like in all those stories about happily ever after?" Sam uttered quietly and she looked into his eyes looking for more strength to tell him how much she liked him.

"Because this is real life and those are fairy tales, chances of that happening are extremely rare. We would be stupid to think that life could be that easy." Jake answered back and continued to look into her eyes. He was searching for something that would tell him what she wanted from him.

It was different for him to look at someone this intensely, ever since Rose, he had never allowed himself to feel something more than friendship in fear that that person would be taken from him, the way she was. It was a pain and something he was trying to protect himself from.

But then Sam had come into his life and now he felt things that he had felt before and it set all of the warning bells in his head and he wanted to run and hide from these feelings and hope they left him. But the truth was that he knew that Sam was struggling, fighting an internal battle that she might well and truly end up losing but he couldn't help her as it was hers to fight.

To feel like this again was scary but also a welcome return because he didn't think he could again. But what if she didn't want to tell him that? What if she wanted to tell him to back off or something? What if she couldn't get past Rose?

Even with his constant reassurances she still thought of herself as a replacement for Rose. But that was never something he had said to her but she could tell that there was more than what had been said out loud. He felt protective of her because he didn't want to lose her the same way and with the Hunts Clan in the picture it could end badly for the both of them.

Sam looked at her watch and then back at him, she knew that they didn't have time or they would be late for school. Regret lit her features and Jake nodded for a second, feeling a little relieved because of how intense things had just been between the two of them.

They both began to run towards the school making it just in time. Jake and Sam then headed in different directions for classes, with a lingering glance before they left each others' sight.

'What the hell just happened?' Sam asked herself as she let out a breath of relief for a second. They would still need to have a conversation but now that they had started it would be easier to continue. She headed to science and saw Trixie sitting in her usual spot.

"Hey, Sam." Trixie motioned for Sam to sit next to her. Sam smiled at her friend and sat in the seat.

"So how did it go? You did tell Jake how you feel right?" Trixie asked of Sam.

Sam didn't know how to answer this and just looked straight in front of her as if to figure out the answer.

End of Chapter 29


	30. Chapter 30

Another Dragon

Disclaimer: I do not own American Dragon, it is the property of Disney

Chapter 30

Sam was still struggling to find an answer which would satisfy Trixie, because it would at least make things easier for Sam in the future. She watched the science teacher write out something on the board and she began to copy it down.

"Sam come on, don't leave me hanging here. Tell me what happened between you and Jake." Trixie whispered to Sam, who just ignored her to consider her words.

"I can't tell you what I don't know myself, Trix. I will when I have answers for you, just leave it at that for a while, ok?" Sam spoke and looked at her friend to tell her to leave it.

Trixie nodded her head and then started to write. She knew that Sam was obviously struggling with her own problems and at the moment there wasn't really anything she could do to help. It made her frustrated that she couldn't even help her friend with her own internal battles.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Time passed by as it usually would in a science class, Sam didn't say anything throughout the rest of the time they were there. She wanted to tell Trixie everything but whilst it was all so screwed up in her own head there was no use in confusing someone else with it as well.

The bell rang and Sam packed up her things and headed for the next class, in a rather somber mood. She held her bag closer to her and began to weave and move quickly through the sea of students that were now flooding out of the other classrooms.

Heading for the next floor up, Sam was greeted once again by Brad, he had that smirk on his face that was beginning to get on her nerves. She felt like some kind of prey, helpless and weak and he almost looked as if he expected her to fall into his arms and swoon at the sight of him.

"Hey Sam, what's up?" He asked in his confident voice, leaning up against the wall, blocking her way.

"Not now, Brad." Sam answered, not even looking him in the eye, really not in the mood for this right now.

"Come on, Sam I know that you like me." Brad still didn't let her out of the way and she shoved past his arm in the end and continued to walk away from him.

"Brad, just leave me alone." Sam didn't look back and headed toward her next class. He had put her in a little bit of a worse mood, she breathed in and out in order to calm herself.

She walked through the door and took her normal seat and breathed a sigh of relief as she was away from Brad, any time she ran into him made her want to scream out loud. Normally she might think that she would be flattered by this kind of attention from a popular boy but right now her mind was only on one other and he meant more to her Brad did or probably ever would.

She felt so lost in her own hang ups about Rose and Jake being his unbreakable couple through all of the adversity they faced and she was just on the outside, never quite being able to make the cut. What was she after all? Something that fought to defend the innocent from evil, but beyond that who was she?

She didn't want to be that person who was unsure of who she was, but that was mostly what being a teenager was all about and she needed to make mistakes in order to make the right decisions. Jake was another choice she needed to make, but this was a lot more serious than choosing the wrong outfit, she could lose him if she said the wrong thing.

This would no doubt be a long day for her.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Classes finished for the morning and now it was lunchtime and Sam headed for the cafeteria after stuffing her bag into her locker. She got herself some food and sat down at her usual table, waiting for the others to arrive.

A couple of minutes later Jake, Trixie and Spud appeared and greeted Sam sitting down next to her and Jake watched her carefully unsure of how to start. Trixie and Spud both thought this was a lot more awkward than they had planned.

"So what are we up to after school?" Spud asked, breaking the silence.

"Hang out at the skate park, work on our moves?" Trixie suggested as she dug into her lunch, Sam nodded at the idea of the four of them spending some time hanging out and doing normal things for at least a moment.

"Sounds like a plan." Jake answered after he swallowed a mouthful of food. Maybe it would be the perfect way to start talking to Sam again. Since this morning they hadn't spoken a single word to each other and it was making him crazy.

Brad came through the door of the cafeteria and eyed Sam up the way he usually did.

'He just doesn't know when to quit, does he?' Sam thought to herself as she just ignored him once again. She went back to her food and didn't even look up at Brad because if she did then he would probably come over.

"What is going on with Brad?" Trixie asked Sam as she watched him go back to his seat. She was concerned that Brad was still after Sam to be his girlfriend.

"He just can't take no for an answer and I have tried to get him to back off but he isn't going away." Sam was a bit worn down by Brad and it was a bit repetitive to say the least, telling him to leave her alone.

"I can always have a word if you want." Trixie spoke, always interested in seeing what Brad's game was, especially as he didn't seem to let up.

"No, it's my problem and eventually he will get the message." Sam answered back and started to eat her food once again.

Jake was watching her as she did this, it bothered him to see her so tired off it. He knew that they had to deal with whatever it was between them because it could only make things worse if they were left in the air the way they had been since this morning. He would always wonder what if they had left for school a few minutes earlier, would it make a difference to the mood she was in right now? Would it be easier just to never bring it up again?

No would be the answer to both of those questions. He had to know what she thought and by hearing that maybe he would be able to get past a lot of things in his life that were holding him from being able to move on. To start afresh.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Lunch passed without much more conversation and Sam then headed with them to Rotwood's class for his lesson. Well at least they were in for a laugh with that, maybe it would be a helpful hand in improving Sam's mood.

"Attention, Class. This is what we will be learning this afternoon." Rotwood announced and he hit his pointer at Jakes' desk in usual fashion.

Jake flinched at this and then watched Rotwood head to the front of the class and begin to write on the board, the lesson plan and the chalk scratching against the board.

Sam got out her notebook and begin to copy things down.

Jake wrote something down and subtly passed it to Sam who opened it up and read its contents.

_'Are you Ok?'_ It said. Sam thought about her answer and looked back at him for a second.

She wrote something down and passed it back whilst Rotwood's back was turned in a similar manner to the way he had before. Then she went write back to writing the things from the board.

Jake opened up the note and saw a few words.

_'I'll be ok, we just need to talk.'_ It said and Jake read it a few times, he needed to cement it into his memory because there was so much that needed saying and they could only say much over a piece of papers and a few written words.

Doing it like this would only go so far to stop them from saying what needed to be said without a written script. What they really felt, the truth could not be written and if it were then that would be so much easier for all parties concerned.

Rotwood kept on moving through the rows of desks as he repeated facts quickly that everyone struggled to keep up with. Sam just let her mind drift somewhere as she got tired of saying how wrong Rotwood was in her head.

'Seriously how was this guy even a professor, how could he get things so wrong?' Sam thought to herself as she continued to write things down.

After a while, the bell rang and everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they filed out of the classroom but not before picking up some homework. Sam headed to her locker and grabbed her bags and the books she would need.

"Come on, Sam." Jake, Spud and Trixie were waiting for her at the entrance to the school and Sam hurried to meet them. They then left for the day and headed to the skate park to have some fun, to be teenagers for a while.

Once they arrived there, Spud and Trixie went off on their skateboards and started to perform their outrageous and spectacular stunts in their normal fashion. Sam was perfectly happy just watching them have their fun, anyway she wasn't very good at handling something with four wheels, rather two wings were more her thing.

Jake then joined in and they were doing their tricks and flips, having fun and it was good for a while , before Sam began to think once again about things that she didn't want to. But she tampered it back down at least for a while. Giving herself a bit of time.

It was maybe an hour later before they decided to call it a day and they split off in different directions. Sam and Jake in one and Trixie and Spud in the other, with a goodbye they left each others sight. It was only just beginning to get dark now.

They walked slowly to prolong their journey as much as they could before they arrived home.

"We're alone so can we please talk now?" Jake asked Sam, stopping walking and seeing her do the same as him. He was unsure of what to say after that.

"Ok." Sam replied as she turned to face him. She felt a bit more relief as they were now doing something about this.

"What is it that you want to say?" Jake chose his words carefully, now they had all the time in the world to talk rather than being on a deadline and having a place to be.

"Can you tell me what you feel for me?" Sam asked him, putting him on the spot more so than ever before and she knew that she had said something to make him consider his own feelings.

"Sam..." Jake was at a loss, he thought that she would have a few more things to say before they got started on what he felt.

"Please tell me, I need to hear it." Sam begged him to tell her, there was so much to say but she couldn't until he told her something that she needed to know. He needed to tell her just like she needed to tell him.

"We're a team, you and I, when it's just us out there and no one else I worry about you. When you get hurt you tell me that you don't matter that saving others means more than your life, I get mad because you mean more to me than that. We do our jobs, we save them but I want you to want to save yourself because without you here now I can't imagine. It would be a life that I couldn't live again. All these obstacles that we have been over and now there is this." Jake answered honestly, gauging her reaction to his thoughts about her.

"When Brad asked you out it bothered me, because it was like history all over again, with Rose. How I liked her and Brad did as well at the same time. But only one of us could have her. I don't want to see you with him, it just isn't right." He continued as she nodded in acceptance of it.

"Brad doesn't mean as much to me as what you think he does. He's just annoying." Sam added as Jake continued.

What she so wanted to say was 'He isn't you'. But she didn't want to interrupt him any further.

She wanted to smile and tell him how much she liked him and she was just about to stop him from speaking again.

"JAKE!" Jake's Grandfather came out of nowhere, seeing them both standing there in conversation. He was moving as fast as he could.

"What is it, Gramps?" Jake asked, a little distracted by the conversation he was having with Sam.

"There is trouble in the Bazaar, the Hunts Clan are back. You need to get down as soon as possible." Jake's Grandfather answered quickly as all three headed towards the train station and the Bazaar.

"You do realise this could be a trap?" Sam stated the obvious, now back in business mode. Deal with the Hunts Clan and then deal with rest of life, now that was a plan.

"It could be but we don't have a choice if there are innocent creatures in danger?"

The train took off once they'd boarded and sped along the tracks faster than it had done before and then they all piled off.

All kinds of magical creatures were running all over the place, screaming and searching for cover.

Sam caught one of them. She saw the scared look on the leprechauns' face as she held him till he stopped running.

"What's happening? Tell me?" Sam demanded of him as he stopped and was still terrified, trying to get away.

"The Hunts Clan they are destroying everything. You have to stop them." The leprechaun answered and then ran away when Sam let him go.

"Come on." Jake transformed and then so did Sam. They headed deeper into the bazaar, heading to where they had last sighted The Hunts Clan.

As they flew around, searching for any sign that there was an ambush or anything, but they didn't se a thing as they continued through the bazaar. It was an odd feeling like something more was about to happen, it was rather unnerving and neither of them liked it right now.

They came across the destruction, the burnt out buildings with pieces of debris all over the ground, belongings scattered everywhere. It brought home for the both of them how dangerous the bad guys really were, the lengths they would go to get what they wanted. Both Sam and Jake had no idea what they were truly working toward, it was all speculation at this second.

Jake and Sam then began to head back to the more populated areas to have another look around over there. A green beam of light headed right toward them and they only just managed to avoid it.

"Be careful." Jake uttered as they got themselves ready for a flight. Both began to spin in formation, breathing fire at the intruders.

Sam agreed with Jake and put a solid effort into not being caught this time unawares. They flew like they were one dragon rather than two, dispatching their enemies, stopping them once again.

If you were above them seeing a show of green lights and two dragons flying through the air in a kind of dance then it might seem rather entrancing, something that you couldn't take your eyes off. Rather beautiful, but being involved in it was something different.

Sam landed on the ground and began to fling her tail left and right winding the Hunts Clan members and destroying their weapons before they could get off any more attacks. She attacked left and then right, sweeping her enemies and then taking flight once more to help Jake.

It was a longer battle than either had expected and when it was over, the Hunts Clan all ran away. Sam and Jake both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess you were right about it being a trap." Jake said to Sam as he transformed back into his human form, she did the same.

"But destroying everything, they might have been looking for something and we caught them mid search." Sam retorted, picking up a stray book from a nearby shop.

A goblin came out of burnt bookshop and started picking up his wares. He shook his head in sadness at his destroyed shop, he could only be grateful that he was unharmed.

"Excuse me, did they take anything?" Sam asked him, he looked a little miffed at her asking that.

"When I find everything I will be able to let you know what is missing, it might take a while." The goblin answered back as he started to grab more books which lay on the ground.

"If someone is missing something then maybe it will give us some idea of what they are up to. It's what we have to go on right now." Sam continued to Jake who nodded at this. They then headed back towards the main hub of the bazaar, asking the same questions as they moved along.

Sam felt good for at least this she wasn't injured in any way. They were on their way now, both on the road to telling the other how they felt and closer to finding out what The Hunts Clan wanted. It was a start.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Once they were sure that there was nothing else going on in the Bazaar they headed back up to the mortal world. Jake's Grandfather met them again on the train and sat across from them as the train started its route back.

"You did well young ones, finding a lead to help us figure things out. Now we just need to be patient and wait to see what happens next." He said.

Jake and Sam both nodded, Jake then pulled on his head phones to listen to his music player. Sam subconsciously looked back at him, wondering what he thinking right at this very second. When he was like this, silent he was unpredictable.

She wanted to know what he was thinking all the time and how he wanted live his life, what his plans for the future were and if she had any place in them. That was something she wanted to know beyond everything else.

End of Chapter 30


	31. Chapter 31

American Dragon

Chapter 31

They were once again on the train heading back towards New York City. Both were in their own worlds right now, without really interacting with each other. Jake's Grandfather seemed to be in exactly the same kind of situation, but maybe that was because they all had their own ideas about how they would approach the next confrontation with the Hunts Clan.

Sam was worried about what would happen next and what had the Hunts Clan wanted with a book from the Magic Bazaar. Why they were coming down this path now, what they were planning on doing? Maybe it was beyond their own understanding. When the goblin bookshop owner would get back to them then they would have more of an idea.

There was too much information to process right and it caused her to have a headache every time she even thought about it. All of these things converging on her before she could even run away from them and beat them down until she could deal with them one at a time. Jake was the most important issue that she had to sort out. She wanted to do something about this and help Jake and herself to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

As she looked at him, it made her feel weak on the inside, the same feeling that she could use to make her feel stronger, to have faith in another person, the same way she had had faith in Keir before he disappeared from her life, the way he had. That faith had then left her – or so she thought-

but now here it was again returning to her like an old friend.

Jake had brought that back in her and for that she was eternally grateful because she had felt stronger when she could trust another. To have someone's back the way he did. But now it was far different, a far cry than what she had felt for Keir.

Jake was in his own little world right now, with his headphones in his ears. It was his way of focusing, his way of getting through this confusing situation. Sam could hear the tones of the music even through the headphones, Dragon hearing and all that.

The Hunts Clan had never before been a riddle wrapped up in an enigma the way they were right now. It was frustrating that something couldn't be done to break through their plans in a swift attack. Because it wasn't one sided the way it had been before and it was different. For them to be so secretive and not attack openly like they had been before was disconcerting. They were like shadows and they vanished just as quickly as they had come.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Getting off the train, the three were still ensconced in silence. None knowing what to say next. Jake's Grandfather was glad to be back in the mortal world and headed off in a different direction to the two teenagers telling them that they would meet up again tomorrow.

Sam and Jake nodded and headed away from their mentor. Sam found the ground that she walked on with Jake a lot more interesting than looking to her friend. She thought about Trixie and Spud in all of this. How good a friends they had been to her and how this whole situation with Jake had just made things get a whole lot more complicated.

This whole thing had not been easy for any of them and it made her wonder if there was any chance that it was all a waste of time. But then she realised that she couldn't stand the idea of not feeling this way again in her whole life. It was without a question, something she wasn't willing to give up on.

'What will happen next between us?' Sam thought to herself as they continued to head towards their neighbourhood. She smiled a little at the though of their next conversation, looking up to see him still with his headphones on.

It was easier to avoid talking about it until both had more an idea of what to say next, it was something to kind of keep them from spilling out their emotions in an untidy mess like they so wanted to.

"So what are we going to do next?" Jake asked Sam and she then looked up at him. He was focused on the problem at hand.

"There isn't much we can do until the bookshop owner gets back to us. Then when he does we can then come up with a game to stop the HuntsClan and put them back into the darkness where they belong." Sam spoke, with a tone that didn't merit messing with.

"But-" Jake tried to answer but Sam cut across him when she stood right in front of him. Her smiling, disarmed his disagreeing with her.

"Just got to wait until tomorrow, there is nothing else that can be done, so we need to go back to other things and let them consume us rather than this." Sam told him.

It is not what he wanted to hear right now but it did stop him from talking about the bad guys and get back onto the other thing that they had been talking about before. She was afraid of continuing down this path but both knew that they needed to do this.

"This has to be dealt with and we have to do this now before we get into other situations with the bad guys." Sam told him and placed her hand in his.

"I Like You." Sam told him, bluntly putting it and waiting in anticipation about what he would say to her. About how he would say it, if he felt the same way as her, if it consumed him the way it did her.

"I Like You as well." Jake said to her and smiled at her reaction, she sighed in relief. It was like a release in her chest, something that unlocked her heart. It was breathing a new life into her and she felt it and so did he, it was at the same level, possibly even more than Rose.

She was the same as him and knew all of the things that could be between them. How wonderful it could be. How there was now one and probably the biggest obstacle had disappeared. What else would get in their way? Would it be something of their own making or a face from the past?

Whatever it would be hopefully they would be able to deal with it together? Was that what they were now? Together? Things had been so good for a few minutes and no words had been uttered to spoil the moment.

Sam moved closer to him and put her arms around him and he was quick to react to it and hugged her too, arms around her waist. She sighed internally, allowing herself to let her guard down completely at the feeling of something better than she had ever even known.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

It was a while later and both were still immersed in each others arms and smiling still. Nothing could possibly break them apart right now but the fact that it was getting late and there was still the fact that they had school in the morning. It was a Friday tomorrow so they would have the weekend to talk properly about what they would do now.

"Come on, I'll walk you home." Jake spoke for the first time. He let go of her and held her hand, she gripped his just as strongly.

She nodded and headed towards her house along with Jake, following his lead. The streets seemed to blend together as they walked through them.

'So this is what it feels like.' Sam thought to herself as they continued the familiar route. She struggled to remember the last time she had truly felt this much at peace with everything in her life. Yes they still had to figure out The HuntsClan's plan but that could wait until tomorrow.

Soon enough they arrived at Sam's House and both turned to face each other. Neither really wanted to leave but knew it was late so they had to say goodbye. Sam moved into his arms and hugged him once more before moving away.

"See you tomorrow?" Sam said to him and he nodded before heading away and down the street. He was gone and she was still smiling as she closed the door behind her.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Sam closed the door unaware that someone was watching her from a distance. Because her guard was down she wasn't able to tell that she was under observation. A figure immersed in the dark of the night was standing a few feet away, not close enough to be noticed but enough to be able to keep track of things.

The figure was gone, disappeared in shadow as if they were never there in the first place.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Sam leant against the door, her heart was full to the brim as it always would be now, she thought to herself. She knew that she had to get to bed and get ready for school tomorrow but she was still smiling and wanted to scream it from the rooftops that she had finally had the courage to tell someone her feelings.

She had not felt this way since her friendship with Keir had disappeared. She never thought she could that open with a person. But right now here she was, taking the next logical step beyond the friendship that she and Jake had come to have. Feeling beyond anything that she knew that this was right. That it was the most right that she had ever felt about a person.

She imagined feeling like this one day when she was very young. But it was more like a fairytale back then with the image of her as a great damsel in distress only to be rescued by her prince charming.

But then reality sank in and it was put to the back of her mind, ever thinking that she would find someone who would be able to know all of her, all sides and be able to accept it the way she wanted to. Life came after that, responsibilities and she forgot to think about it again until she met Keir and then again when she started to really feel for Jake.

Sam then proceeded to head up the stairs towards her room and closed the door behind her, turning on the lights. She began to feel the strains of the day make her feel drowsy and she wanted to just sleep until the next day because then she would be able to make a big start at moving onto the next chapter of her life.

And she didn't want to miss a moment.


	32. Chapter 32

American Dragon

Chapter 32

The next morning came quickly for Sam, as she came back to herself as soon as the alarm started blaring in her ear. She smacked it with her hand and then got herself out of her bed, as she did so, the events of the previous night came back to herself like a breath of fresh air.

A smile came across her face as she remembered the words that had been uttered by both her and Jake, how he had told her that he like her as well. How it felt with his arms around her waist and holding her tightly to him like an anchor holding a ship to the same place. That would her memory of how she could feel so happy after all that life had chucked at her.

She made her bed and then headed towards the shower to wash the nights sleep away from her body. She was still smiling even now as she got dressed into some clean clothes for the day before picking up her bag and making her way down the stairs to make some breakfast for herself.

Her dad must have left early for work because the house was quiet. She did miss him a lot but they both had things and responsibilities that they had a duty to complete and it was the life they had. That was just the way things were but that didn't stop her from missing him.

So she made herself some toast, popping on the news and just having something else to watch whilst she ate. It was nothing that she was really paying attention to really.

A little while later, she put the dishes in the sink and headed out of the house, closing the door behind her and making her way towards Jakes' house.

The day was still young, the sun was up but it was still early yet and there was no one really out except for the paper boy starting his rounds before school.

A while later she was at Jake's house and knocked on the door to find Jake's mom answering the door. Sam smiled at the woman who smiled back, clearly happy with the fact that Jake seemed to be himself once again.

"What happened between you and my son last night? He came back home with a smile on his face?" She asked Sam as Sam walked through the front door into the house.

"Things were said and we straightened everything out." Sam said by way of explanation to the adult. She didn't know if Jake would want her to explain everything that had happened between the two of them and Sam tried to keep that as a promise.

"So you two are good again?" She asked Sam, showing that she meant business and protection towards her son.

"We're better now and hopefully we'll stay that way." Sam answered back, leaning against the wall and the older woman smiled now, obviously through with the interrogation.

Jake made his way down the stairs to see his mom and the girl he liked talking. Sam caught sight of Jake and smiled secretly to him and his mom then headed to the kitchen before Jake hit the last step.

"Hi." He said to her a little shyly. Sam found her shoes interesting and mumbled a hello back. Jake saw this and placed his hand on her shoulder before hugging her tightly to show that it was still ok, that he still wanted this.

"Sorry." Sam said to him as she hugged him back.

She then pulled back and Jake grabbed his bag and they both left his house before making their way to school for a long day.

On the way, Sam grabbed Jake's hand just subconsciously and she really wanted to. He stopped for a second and then continued to head towards the school.

Trixie and Spud were riding along on their skateboards in the opposite direction and caught sight of Jake and Sam together holding hands. Trixie smiled, happy that they had finally sorted out their issues and made the first step to being beyond friends.

"Hey Jake, Sam how are things?" Trixie and Spud met up with the two dragons as they were at the school entrance.

"Good." Sam answered before letting go of Jake's hand and walking along with Trixie, having a conversation between the two of them as promised before.

"So what happened?" Trixie asked Sam, who still had a smile on her face.

"We talked and finally I told him that I like him and then things changed and now we are kind of together. He told me that he likes me too." Sam told her friend.

The bell rang not too long later and everyone headed to first period. The doors closed behind them and all rushed to their seats, Professor Rotwood made his way into the room with his usual enthusiasm for the start of the new day.

Right on time was the usual raised voice and the strike of his cane against the desk to get the attention of the class and he began his lesson. The rest of the class began to write what he wrote on the board and the only noise that came from the room was the scratching of pens.

"Today class we will be learning about unicorns." Professor Rotwood spoke to the class and he began reading from his own personal material, the way he did during every lesson.

Everything proceeded by at its usual pace with all of the expected errors from Rotwood, it was like a well read book. Just the normal start to the day that they all knew was going to happen.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

When the bell rang everyone woke up, so to speak and all but rushed out the door to the next class but once they were all out in the corridor all breathed a sigh of relief that it was over for another day.

Sam headed to science class with Trixie and waved a goodbye to Jake who headed off in a different direction. Sam had other things on her mind and was therefore unfocused on the lesson at hand and wasn't really that bothered by it.

It was pretty much the same thing they had been learning yesterday but expanding on it just a bit more. Trixie was bored as well but did a better job of hiding than Sam did and wanted laugh at the fact that her friend was so not concentrating on something that she should be.

'Girl has her head on a certain someone.' Trixie thought to herself. Jake must have really done a number on Sam for her to be like this.

The lesson seemed to drag a bit though as it got further along.

With the promise of a test tomorrow the class left with homework as well, bags on their back and grateful for the fact that it was now lunchtime, halfway through the school day.

Sam made her way to the cafeteria, grabbing herself some food and then heading to a table in the corner, hopefully the others would arrive before anything else happened, or anyone else showed up.

She didn't have long to wait because along came Spud, followed by Trixie and then finally Jake. It was like seeing him made the sun come up or something entirely poetic. It made sense out of most of the things in her life this seemed to make the most sense.

With these people, in this city, in this world of theirs this was the most freedom she had ever really had, these people were the best friends she had ever had.

"Hey Sam." Spud said to her, sitting down opposite her and began to dig into his lunch.

Trixie sat next to Sam and Jake sat next to her. All four seemed to descend into silence, not the uncomfortable kind but the nice kind.

Sam caught Jake's eye and smiled subconsciously before turning away from it and becoming more interested in her lunch than she was in him.

"So what's up for after school?" Trixie asked.

"Skatepark." Spud suggested, thinking they could all use a bit of fun.

"We can't, Gramps wants us to meet him at his shop." Jake told them, a bit upset that they couldn't spend that much time with their friends.

"Ok, well maybe tomorrow, we should have the weekend to just relax and hang out." Trixie responded, Sam and Jake nodded in agreement.

"Fighting the HuntsClan really takes it out of you." Jake muttered, Sam laughed at this because it was actually very true. Those guys didn't give up and it just made knocking them down that much harder to do.

They all began to talk about what they would do with their weekend, ranging from going to the skatepark to just hanging out around the city, finding things to do and having fun.

Lunch quickly ended and they all went their separate ways again for the afternoon classes. Sam wanted to do nothing more than blow off the rest of the day.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Finally the bell signalling the end of the day and the halls were once again filled with students eager to get out of the building and begin the weekend. Oh what it must be like to be normal and have a normal weekend as opposed to fighting evil.

Spud and Trixie went off in one direction and Sam and Jake went in another, waving goodbye to their friends as they did so. After walking for a few minutes Sam moved her hand to Jake's and grabbed it and they began to walk a bit closer together instead of the chasm that was between them before where people could just walk through the gap.

They walk slow as if to savour this time because neither knew when they could have time like this if the weekend plan went out of the window.

"I am glad that school is over because at least I didn't have to face Brad." Sam said to Jake, breaking the silence once again.

"You know that you'll have to face him sooner or later." Jake replied, stopping them for a second, seeing that she was concerned about what would happen next.

"I know." Sam responded, sighing.

"Come on, Gramps will be wondering where we have gotten to." Jake finished and they began to walk towards the shop once again.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

A while later...

Jake and Sam arrived at the electronics shop and entered the building to find Jake's Grandfather at the register before coming to greet them as he usually did.

"Hello young ones." He said in his wise voice and all three headed towards the back room where Foo Dog was with the map.

"Well have you found anything else out?" Sam asked Foo Dog as she settled down on one of the chairs, Jake did the same.

"The goblin who owned the magical bookshop came back to us and said that one of his rarest tomes was missing. It was sealed away in a safe in the back of the shop but the HuntsClan managed to break in and steal it." Foo Dog announced, reading off some details.

"What does this book do?" Jake asked.

"It contains powerful magic to locate things, people that is why The HuntClan attacked the magic bazaar." Foo Dog answered them.

"What do you think this means? They might be trying to find someone who can resurrect their leader, but who could that be?" Sam was confused, why would someone keep a book that had that much power?

"I don't know but that is what you need to find out." Jake's Grandfather answered them.

"But..." Jake answered, he was disappointed that their weekend plans had just gone out of the window.

"Jake, this is important as it always is and you know that you and Sam both have responsibilities." Jake's Grandfather, answered them. He knew that they wanted to be out in the world and having fun but right now this was their world and this was what they needed to be doing.

Responsibility. They had to do this right now, it was their duty. To the world that they protected everyday and to themselves.

This was their destiny.


	33. Chapter 33

American Dragon

Chapter 32

Jake sighed, knowing that his grandfather was right after all, this was their destiny, but that didn't mean that he didn't want to be able to go out with his friends every now and again, to just be a regular teenager.

'When have things ever really been normal?' He thought to himself as he continued to think to himself. His life had never really been anything but this and he had to guess that Sam's was exactly the same.

But now they were here and together – a couple – they were a team and had to rely on each other. Now that they knew what had been taken from the bookshop in the Magic Bazaar they would have to go and follow the HuntsClan carefully to see where this path would next lead them.

What person it would lead them to, who could really have that much power? Only time would tell them that, just like everything else.

"Ok, we'll come up with a strategy tomorrow right now it is getting late and we have to get to our homes." Sam answered and she said goodnight to Foo Dog and Jake's Grandfather and they left the shop.

Here they were again, walking home together, the second they left the shop, Jake grabbed Sam's hand again and they walked at a very slow pace back towards their homes.

"I know that we had plans with Trixie and Spud but they will understand right?" Jake told her and she nodded in agreement.

"Sometimes I wonder what it might have been like if we were just normal teenagers but then what is life without some excitement." Sam answered back, lightly shoving his shoulder smiling as she did so.

Jake smiled at her but then was still worried about what would happen next with everything in their lives, the mythical and normal. Both worlds together when they were.

They were new together but they seemed to fit as if they had been a couple for a lot longer than a couple of days. Feelings were far deeper than they had been when they had first become friends and how all of the obstacles that they had overcome had helped shaped them now. Walking through the streets to their homes as if nothing could touch them at this very moment.

Unaware of what was yet to come in the future for them and how close it was to coming to pass.

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Arriving at Sam's house they were about to say goodnight when there was a noise not too far away, deciding better to be safe than sorry they decided to check it out and seew what was going on around the corner.

Both were ready on guard for anything, moving quickly to the alley where the noise was. Out of nowhere the same hooded figure that had been watching them the night before come at them with incredible speed and agility.

Sam and Jake both managed to move out of the way of the hooded figure just before they were hit. The streets were empty right now but that didn't make it any less dangerous for any of them to out in the open like this.

The figure ran away from them and they gave chase as if he was expecting them too but it was all that they could do at this particular moment in time. It might be a trap but this was a public and it had to be not here.

It was a case of learning while they were running, keeping track of their enemy but after a while they were in an empty alleyway somewhere near the park. As soon as they were sure that no one would see them and that their enemy was magical like they were they transformed into their dragon forms.

Their enemy fired off green beams from his staff that he brought from behind his back and the two dragons proceeded with their aerial manoeuvres moving in formation attempting to take down their enemy. They swept over above his head, blowing fire at him and he moved with the same agility firing off.

ZZZZTTTT...

The blast hit the trees, singing them and smoke billowing as the wings of the dragons beat against them they continued this dance for a while.

"Sam." A voice croaked from the man in the cloak, the sound was familiar and this distraction caused Sam to misjudge her path and she crashed into a tree, becoming tangled in the branches.

Jake was attempting to distract the man but it wasn't doing him much good at this point. A few more blasts with his staff and Jake was down as well.

The man advanced on Jake when Sam did something monumentally stupid and transformed back to her human form, falling from the tree and rushing to her feet.

"STOP! LEAVE HIM!" She shouted at the figure who turned to face her, she put on her brave face and held her ground even as she was advanced, scared though she was. He still advanced on her in a slow steady gait that put her even further on edge.

"Sam." The voice said again and she backed up then and was then against the tree again a few steps later, she wanted to transform but something was preventing her, that was most likely herself.

He put his hand out and stroked her face in a way that was confusing, but somewhere in the back of her head she recognised. Just when he was about remove the hood, Jake got up and pulled the guy away from Sam.

Jake forced him a few metres away landing on the ground, the staff not too far away. When he was sure that the man was down for a moment he turned to face Sam who was still frozen to the spot. Sure that she was unharmed he turned back to the enemy who had disappeared.

He transformed back to his human form and went over to his girlfriend. She seemed to unfreeze and took a breath out before moving to Jake and throwing her arms around his neck and leaning into him for strength the way they always did nowadays.

He held her too, feeling a bit more than concerned about the fixation that the man seemed to have on Sam.

Knowing that this was not the place for them to be off their guard they moved through the streets back towards their houses once again constantly looking around for their enemy who wasn't anywhere in sight thankfully.

They were at Sam's house, both walked up the front step towards the door, looking around a couple more times.

"I sometimes wish there was a bit less excitement, especially when things like this happen to us in the open." Sam spoke suddenly, referring to their earlier conversation, Jake smiled.

"I know." He answered back, embracing her once more before beginning to walk back down the steps.

"Jake, stop for a moment." Sam said to him, he froze in his tracks and she made her way down to his level.

She got in close to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thanks for the help, for having my back like always." Sam smiled at him, blushing a little as she moved away back up the stairs and closing the door behind her.

Jake was a little stunned but then headed down the stairs and towards his house. As soon as he got there, he let out a sigh of relief that there was no sign of the man that had attacked them, also celebrating the fact that he had gotten a step further with Sam.

They were closer now than they had been, if not for the fact that they were in constant battle with the forces that were a threat to both worlds. But maybe it kind of helped that they were together in both things, a team and a couple. The same on the inside, a fighter and on the outside, a human.

Closing the door behind him, he turned to go deeper into his home.

"What time do you call this, young man?" His mother scolded him for his lateness, the look of stern tolerance on her face but also concern for her own son.

"Sorry mom, got caught up in things with Gramps, then I walked Sam home." Jake answered his mom, wanting to know more before telling her the truth. About all of it and if this man and The Huntsclan were part of the same threat.

"So how are things between you and Sam?" Susan's voice rose a little, happy that her son had found a girl at last that he could be completely himself with. Sure they had their issues but they were working on them.

"A lot better now, things have changed between us so much that we still have things to get used to." Jake told his mom, he headed up the stairs to his room, needing very much to get some sleep.

Things had really changed and tomorrow would undoubtedly be full of more questions that they had to answer. For now he was tired, as soon as his head hit the pillow Jake was out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

The next morning...

Jake woke up bright and early the next day, happy that it was the weekend but knowing he had to go his Grandfathers' shop to inform him and Foo Dog of the new enemy that they had encountered last night. He got up out of his bed and went to have a quick shower, feeling refreshed after he had done so.

He changed into some clean clothes and headed down the stairs for some breakfast with his family.

"Hey Jake, what are your plans for today?" His dad asked, readjusting his glasses as he ate his toast. He looked up to face his son, genuinely interested in what he had plans for.

"Just got to go and see Gramps, he wants me to help him out in the shop." Jake told his dad, showing his reluctance to do so.

"What about your friends?" His dad questionned.

"Maybe we'll hang tomorrow or something." Jake replied, finishing his breakfast and taking his plate to the sink before grabbing his skateboard and helmet, said goodbye to his family and heading left his house.

He headed in the direction of Sam's house so they could walk together. She might have wanted to make her own way but he wanted to make sure she really was ok after what happened with the cloaked man last night. Time would only tell.

He got on his skateboard and thought about what would happen to them next, short of an earthquake they had pretty much hit the wall on most things. They had only known each other a few months and they had fought for a long time about their feelings and their own thoughts about how their value of their own lives.

How far they had come in that space of time, how much of a distance had been crossed, how feelings had become stronger. He was glad that she had forced him to face it and everything that came with it.

It was at this moment that Rose came back into his head, his relationship with the HuntsGirl was fraught with secrets. How they had to hide their feelings to all of those around them, how they were a danger to the other when they had first met. How even when they knew that they were enemies in the mystical world that they were that close in their human world.

How they had been forced against each other time and time again, fighting on both sides of the field, both good and evil. Rose when she helped him, tried to keep him safe from the HuntsClan. But all it did was make them grow closer and in the end he wanted her to be happy and that was all that really mattered.

If there was some kind of alternate reality where they could have been together then at the time when he thought they could be together without the threat of everything bad tearing them apart. His feelings for her had been that strong that he would have done anything for her but now things were so different.

That was his first love and it was all kinds of epic, thinking it would last forever, but maybe it was just the prologue to getting to first chapter of the real story, fishing through the pages to find out whether or not the ending would be what you wanted it to be.

But this was now and he was new to the whole someone being with him who was like him. Right down to being the American Dragon. But he was worried about how to tell his Grandfather everything that had happened last night.

What was the plan now? What would they do? They had to be on their guard for the next few days, for the next time their enemies decided to attack. To be ready for the next time they had to fight for their very existance.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Jake arrived at Sam's a little while later, he knocked on her door. She answered smiling at him though with her bag slung over her back. Shutting the door behind her.

"How are you feeling?" He asked her and they continued to walk to Grandpa's shop.

"Don't know yet, still confused as to why I froze up the way I did." Sam answered him, as they trailed the familiar route that they took to get around the city.

The answers in the end would most likely reveal themselves but it would take time and that might be something that they didn't have.


End file.
